Pa! Pa! Pa!Sharp, pained, and decidedly erotic moans echoed in my ears with each forceful slap.
This had been going on for quite a while and by now my arm was starting to tire out. In fact I tried to quit several times along the way but the woman--though she appeared high-school aged at the very oldest--kept pestering me with a, "Hey, why"d you stop? I was almost there, you know?"
To which I grumpily replied, "Haven"t you had enough?!"
"Your Grace," Bubbles, our resident blue-haired Undine, spoke up as if I"d wronged her." Do you even realize how long I"ve gone without a proper o.r.g.a.s.m?" She complained with a pout. "Please be a bit more considerate towards the woes of a young unmarried woman."
She had some nerve. I really wanted to drop her. Should I drop her? Let"s drop her.
When I was considering dropping her she went on and said, "Besides, isn"t this all your fault? Take some responsibility for your own actions, Your Grace. Who told you to have such a weird power in those arms of yours?" A snort. "And what happened to, "far be it from me to deny a Lady her small pleasures"?"
My impressions were once against completely shattered. What part of her was respectful and mature? What about Yesmina"s "bubbly and nice" thing I was told of? Isn"t this one just...bold? She was also pretty d.a.m.n pervy!
Which I didn"t mind at all.
I liked women who were honest with themselves. As for having a dose of perversion, even better. Men were the same, what"s wrong with women being like that too?
"You"re right."
"Of course I am." I could just feel the smile in her voice. "Carry on then."
And though I did, indeed, carry on with my ministrations of "punishement" for her "willful struggles" the bickering continued in the exact same fashion the more tired my arm grew.
I recalled the Representatives" talk about me devouring the Little G.o.ddess. Really I was almost worried about HER devouring ME.
Let"s be real. From her words back then she"s pretty thirsty for an Undine.
"Still, this thing"s fast." I muttered, glancing down at the giant green-scaled horse-creature we were hitching a ride on.
"Yeah they"re great, aren"t they? The Scaled Akhal are amazing creatures said to have the blood of wyvers. Can run for days without need for rest, water or food. And their scales stay cool even in this hot desert while warming in the cold. If Your Grace likes I can gift it to you."
Whether the woman made the offer due to my status as a "Dragon Prince" or because of what I"m doing for her was unclear.
"Speaking respectfully like that while being spanked isn"t very convincing."
"Says the one doing the deed." She flung back.
"Only at the request of a Lady. A gentleman like myself has little choice but to accept." I countered.
"Yet is this "gentleman" not the one receiving the most benefit?"
"Although the feeling of a beautiful girl"s soft rear has of course been thoroughly imprinted onto my hand"s memory, that"s far from what you, this little m.a.s.o.c.h.i.s.t, are getting from it"s continued use. Remind me again your little comment of being almost there?"
This girl wants to play against me a battle or words. Too arrogant.
"Touche." She said. "But, actually, let"s stop."
"Had enough?" I asked.
A shake of the head. "Nope. It"s just all the foreplay is creating an itch that likely can"t be scratched in a place like this. Unless, you know, you"re up for getting a little kinky."
"Gonna have to refuse. I don"t wanna be cheatin" on my favorite cat-girl before our first official date and all."
The young Bubbles was laying over the Akhal face-down like a sack of potatoes this entire time and only just now righted herself, positioning her body in front of my own.
She turned around peevishly. "What the heck was all this then?"
"A service. I am kidnapping you, after all."
Her expression cleared up, like clouds parting from the sky."Oh, yeah. That"s right."
She forgot?!
Not that the kidnapping felt like an actually kidnapping past the first five minutes. When I had a bag over her head as we ran through the city so no one would recognize her.
She tilted her head in contemplation. "Maybe refusing is best though. Becks is already interested in you herself. Almost forgot about that."
"Becks?"
"My sister, Rebecca." A grin. "You"ll like her, she"s ultra cool."
"Yeah...now that you mention it I do remember you said something about her. Why isn"t she with you?"
"She left a long time ago to explore. She couldn"t stand this place."
"I"m starting to see why." I sighed, feeling the ground tremble. "d.a.m.n things."
Just as I finished the words there was a loud rumble I was instantly familiar with. Except this time it was heavier.
"You want to take care of it, or should I?"
"Go ahead, those b.u.g.g.e.rs are getting on my nerves."
"As Your Grace commands."
And out popped a scorpion. This one was much larger than the ones before, a so-called Scorpion King. Large as a cart? No, it"s babies were. This one was the size of a two-story building.
They appeared to track by vibration, any little movement picked up by their incredibly sensitive bodies.
I"d crushed twenty of these overgrown land lobsters so far and a.s.sume they finally brought BIg Daddy out to play.
But nope, I wasn"t taking this one on. I did my part many times already, let the fish help out for once.
"You guys must be parched. Here, let me get you something to drink." She lifted her arms and a great tide of water flowed out from thin air, enveloping all the creepy critters. It collected them up into one giant ball of water and left them float helplessly within.
They thrashed about frantically hoping to escape. It was useless. Their bodies twitches horrifically as the life drained from their cold black eyes.
"Can I learn that instead?"
"We stopped once to try teaching you the Water Clone Technique and you made an enormous monster that collapsed and nearly drowned us. " She glared. "So no."
"That was--" I tried explaining but she cut me off.
"I don"t know what you tried to do, or how you held it"s shape. It didn"t even feel like water at all. Wasn"t that just a big slime? Last time I saw one like that it was in the middle of laying waste to a city. Are you trying to ma.s.sacre the entire region? No one here can beat that blasted thing. If it wasn"t it being water and me being able to dissipate it--"
"Alright, alright!" I yelled. " Geez, it was an honest mistake, okay? How was I to know it"d be that strong? I"m barely learning about this stuff. A bit more practice and I"m sure--"
"No practicing!" She elbowed me hard.
"Easy there. You"re a.s.saulting Royalty."
"So? I"m Royalty too. 6th in line for the throne, I might add." A Princess? Really? Another one?
What the h.e.l.l, when did Princesses become so common? Minnie, Lottie, Evie, now Bubbles!
" And you"re creating disaster cla.s.s beings! I"m right to elbow you! How the h.e.l.l do you go from a simple water clone to a slime anyway?! Not to mention one so d.a.m.n big!"
"I was picturing Bubble Buddy!"
"What the h.e.l.l even is that?!"
I wasn"t about to explain the concepts of Spongebob and children"s cartoons--though really Spongebro is a show good for all ages and if you disagree then that makes you a total Squidward which means your opinions are s.h.i.t--to the girl so I ignored her and said, "I was gonna add the details in later. It was just the base, alright? The base!"
She was speechless.
"...Let your mother teach you."
"I can learn myself."
It probably didn"t work since I didn"t use the hand seals. Next time, surely...
I didn"t need Mother for something like this. Bubbles already taught me a lot. Like how to make water from my fingertips. It was surprisingly simple. Again, like peeing. But with your hands. Like those aliens from Scary Movie...2? 3? Whichever.
Just had to let it go. Except for some reason I lacked any control over how much I let out. My Waterb.a.l.l.s became frozen Death b.a.l.l.s. Don"t ask me why they were frozen, I got not clue. Bubbles seemed really shook up when she saw that too.
But!
If it was at the level of a spray bottle, I got that down pat. Its just a really quick burst. And the level of water fountains were even easier.
Minerva ain"t gonna have a good time anymore. I could picture it now...."Bad Minnie, bad! No forcing people to convert! No!" And her cowering in a corner with an adorably sad look, ears downcast.
Tears in her eyes, shaking fearfuly, wearing a flimsy dress shirt and striped panties that clung to her skin.
That"s the dream right there, boys.
"That look is nice on you." Bubbles admired.
"What do you mean? What look?"
"The s.a.d.i.s.t look."
"..."
***
So we"ve been on the road--or lack thereof--for the better half of three hours. It was hot, I had swamp a.s.s--as I feared would happen when I first came to this simmering h.e.l.l--and the sneezing didn"t let up Each half hour it"d come back.
One sneeze, that"s it. But like clockwork.
Plsu there was sand nearly up to my crotch and that made me even more miserable.
Speak on my crotch, something else was making it uncomfortable too. Which was this dang fish who insisted on leaning against me, saying, "It"s really refreshing and comfy."
Getting a bit TOO forward, wasn"t she? But she smelled great and it"s not like we were doing anything else other than ride together so I didn"t stop her.
"Certainly don"t have many reservations, do you?"
"What, about doing these kinds of things? Despite how I might seem I"ve never been a prude. I"m usually the type to speak up about what I like or want. And though we"ve both got reasons to not actually hook up that doesn"t mean I shouldn"t take some small advantages when I can, eh?"
"Suppose not."
"See? And you like it too, no? It"s a mutually beneficial relationship. Enjoy it while it lasts, I say."
"Some fine thinking right there."
She smiled sweetly. "And who knows, if things don"t work out with that girl you"re fond of, and if Becks can"t reign you in, it"s not like I"m closed to the idea of having some fun together. Although I think we"d both prefer our bodies to get a little more ripe before that happens, if it ever does."
She"s really open-minded!
"Wouldn"t mind that myself either." While you should stay true to the person you like, you also shouldn"t be so fixated on just that one person.
Just ain"t healthy.
Give it your all, but don"t burn down every other bridge in the process.
Avoid being that creepy obsessive t.w.a.t who can"t take a hint.
"Still. Even if Minnie doesn"t end up with me I don"t even know that sister of yours."
"Maybe. I"m sure you"ll meet her eventually." She yawned. "She"s stubborn and really direct, even more than me. Once she sets her eye on something she doesn"t easily let go. Not sure why she hasn"t approached you yet, though I"ve a feeling she will soon. Should prepare yourself, she"s pretty fierce."
"Oh goodie. Should I be scared?"
"She and your mother feel a lot alike." Was all she said.
I felt my scalp tingle. Definitely should keep my guard up then.
Time pa.s.sed quickly after that and we lapsed into a harmonious silence. From time to time other creatures came seeking dinner and we took turns taking them out.
After another half hour pa.s.sed I began messing around.
"I"m surprised at how easy this is." I said while shooting a steady stream of water from my finger and onto a nearby beetle.
"I showed you a little, but you"re a Flood Dragon. It comes naturally." Bubbles idly created a school of watery fish that floated in the air and made me completely envious of her control. "It"s not like magic, exactly. You don"t need to consciously weave a spell, you can create and use it instantly. That"s one of the reasons Dragons are so feared. The rest of us aren"t as fast, there"s always a second or two of delay. Even knowing who you are I"m amazed at what you can do."
"Is it really that great?"
"It is. I sense you"ve just barely unlocked the abilties your bloodline gives you over the element of water. From your previous display I"d say your overall control isn"t the problem either, but rather your level of power. You have so much that anything but the most rudimentary of techniques will overflow and go wild. Which is why I really want you to knock it off." She gave me a dirty look. "Honestly, that kind of raw strength in such a young Dragon, at least I"ve never heard of it. Unless you find a great Artifact that can suppress your bloodline"s abilities until you fully master it"s power you"re better off learning how to use Aura or magic. "
And a sore point was touched. "I"ve been trying to learn Aura. I keep blowing up."
The fish disappeared back into the air with a soundless evaporation. "Really?" I felt her stiffen up in front of me. "Wait. Thinking about it, if you only just unlocked your Dragon bloodline"s abilities there"s no way you could create things like that. The life-bringing aspect of your powers require fine control you can"t use yet. Even if you could, it takes several days to create something like that. Yet you"ve created dozens of oases in just one month. Hey, don"t tell me when you blow up you create them?"
I shifted my eyes guiltily. I could feel her staring. "That"s..."
She gaped. "No way, really? Woah." A shake of the head. "How would you even do something like that? No,no, hold on. Your father, is he of the Celestial race? I felt he might"ve been, even if only a descendant. If I"m right and he is that could explain it."
"Beats me, I don"t even know what that is." Although it wasn"t a challenge to understand after a second of thought.
"They"re...something like Angels, I guess?" Knew it. " The Celestials are mainly a spiritual race and exist as more of a ma.s.s of energy than anything else, but they can take physical form. And sometimes they even mate with mortals. Those descended from them don"t inherit a bloodline, so to speak, but inherit a soulline. While they normally have weaker bodies than that of other races at the start they will, in contrast, have powerful Auras and it"s easier for them to become Aura Masters. They, like Water Dragons, have inherent life-giving properties. So," She said, "Are you sure your father isn"t of the Celestial race? After all he does have the right colors for it. Their descendants are known for their vibrant golden hair, you see, which I noticed he has. Sometimes their eyes take on a shade of gold too."
....Ahhh...
d.a.m.n. Alright. So now I know why Kane was surprised back then. Looks like I"ve got a double dose of life-giving power. Mom"s a Water Dragon and Dad"s basically a Nephilim, a desendant of an Angel and a mortal.
No wonder he"s such a strong dude! No wonder he"s able to give Mother a run for her money!
Dragons look down on other races, Angels must be at a similar level to Dragons.
And Kane knew Mother was a Dragon, but I bet he didn"t know that Father of mine is also a guy with a complicated family history.
I thought back to our conversation the day I got kicked out. He definitely mentioned something about "Angelic bloodlines" in regards to Charlotte. I didn"t think much of it back then but after hearing what Bubbles was saying about their characteristics I"m certain she and Alex have to be of Angelic origins themselves.
It"s something I knew and had been told of but never actually put much thought into.
"What are you thinking about?"
"About how people I know must have Celestial blood in them. In particular I know a certain Princess who"s got amber eyes and a weak const.i.tution. The whole Celestial thing explains it."
"How weak, exactly?"
"I hear a brisk wind could"ve killed her when she was small."
"Really? That"s interesting, she must have an especially strong Aura."
"Ugh, nah, I don"t think so. You said they have healing properties right? Why would her being weaker in body equate to stronger Aura? I"d think she"d be healthier."
"It"s all because she doesn"t know how to use it. An Angelic descendant"s Aura has life-giving properties but if you don"t know how to use it in such a way how is it helpful? It"d only affect others, then, and not yourself."
" When it comes to offspring of Celestials there"s a delicate balance. Her having a strong Aura would mean her soul is abnormally powerful and her body, as the container for her soul, will be put under a lot of strain. It wouldn"t be up to the task of maintaining that balance in those cases. This wouldn"t kill her, mind you, but it will have made her very weak, like you decribed. Only after she learns to properly use Aura to nourish her body would this problem go away. Intense training and good meals will also help since that, too, strengthens the body. "
Ha! Go me. I gave her both those things.
"It"d reach a limit but it"s still better than nothing if they haven"t learned to nourish themselves yet." She went on, killing my self-pride. " Things like this really require you to have the right physiques. Like, if you"re not of Angelic descent or don"t have a body that"s strong enough, then having the soul strength of an Angel will undoubtedly cause your body to suffer a strain. Won"t kill you by itself, I"d say, though you"re likely be bedridden."
Something sounded off with her explanation. "Aura can do that? My mentor told me things like Aura don"t have negative inner effects."
"He"s right." She agreed.
I felt she should be wearing a suit with a miniskirt and gla.s.ses right about now. She was teaching me so much I"m about ready to call her Sensei.
"It wouldn"t normally harm you but, like I said, it"s a problem of physique. You almost always have a body strong enough to support the strength of your soul and this goes for nearly all races. You can also strengthen your soul so long as you refine your body along with it. That"s what Aura users do, after all, though in a different manner than you"d think. Enhancing their bodies using Aura is only temporary, they have to painstakingly advance step by step if they want a permanent increase. Because unlike Angels they can"t nourish their bodies using Aura by itself. But if you"re suddenly possessed by a really strong soul, well, that"ll break you down over time since you don"t have the body capable of handling it. It"s a slow process building your body up. If you haven"t already reached a certain level in body refinement that sudden increase in soul strength will, like, totally ruin you. Not kill you, but becoming comatose is very likely."
She started humming a pleasant tune. "It"s similar to how mana works in such a situation. Except in cases of mana too much will rot you from the inside out and eventually you"ll die. It"s only different in people like that Princess you know. She"s of an Angelic bloodline so her body, while weak, won"t die or enter a comatose state. Anyone else not like her or not of strong enough body won"t be that lucky. " She warned.
I felt my mind churning. "What about the mutated beastkin? How do they fit into all that? You said something about them having affinity for Aura."
"That"s more of a control type of deal, or even sensitivity, not the strength of a soul. But they had that too. It"s just their soul"s strength was artifically created. The ones performing the experimentations back then had two methods: Either they created a stronger energy source that was similar to a soul, or they st.i.tched multiple souls together." I couldn"t tell from this angle alone but she sounded distured. I couldn"t blame her. " Like I told you, tainted magics." She muttered softly.
Then she became cheerful again. "Don"t worry, Your Grace. You won"t have those problems. You"ll never be in danger from having too much, just too little. As for those explosions, it"s only happening because you don"t know how to refine and store your overflowing Aura right? If your mentor is only someoene from this realm then they wouldn"t known, but what you need to do is form your second Core. Those things can handle any amount of energy."
"Second?" Why did it sound like I had a first?
"You really weren"t told anything about yourself, have you? Your heart"s your first Core. It literally creates mana with each beat."
I was stunned. That"s...that"s...I don"t know what. I never felt anything like that!
"Ridiculous." I scoffed.
"That"s Dragon Anatomy 101. Accept it."
"Why haven"t I ever felt it before then?"
"You were born with it, how would you know what it feels like to NOT have it?"
"I see your point. I guess." I admitted.
But I was a human before. Wouldn"t I have noticed suddenly pumping out weird magical energies? And could other people not feel it?
Something didn"t add up here.
....Aw who cares? This is a game world, trying to make sense every little detail is just stupid.
"And how, then, do I go about making this second Core?"
"Ask your mom."
"I hate you."
She held her heart and let out an exaggerate grunt. "Your words, how they hurt me so." She sniffled.
"I"ll give you something to feel hurt over" I threatened midly.
"Promise?"
"..."
I need to start charging this girl money.
***
"Where are we?" I looked at the map. I wasn"t familiar with the entirety of the Dry Lands, however, so I had no clue where this place was.
The day was waning and something made my skin feel all p.r.i.c.kly. We"d reached a dead end where the ground split open. Not split open like a neat little line but the kind you got when mud became bone-dry.
The most eerie thing about the place way the silence. The stagnation. The air didn"t feel right or even taste right.
My left nut itched, like it always did when bad weather came. This time there wasn"t a single dark cloud in the sky.
But I trust my nut.
And if weather wasn"t the problem I was sure SOMETHING bad was gonna happen. I just didn"t know what.
"Hm..." She frowned. "We"re getting close to the central region. I"ve never been here myself. Always felt creeped out. But I know Becks went out here once, just before she left."
"She say anything about the experience?"
"No." I saw fear flash past her eyes. "All I know is she was wounded pretty bad when she got back. All covered in blood, slashed up. It was horrible. She"s insanely strong, Becks. Always takes things head-on if she isn"t in the mood to play around with her prey. Anything that can hurt her that bad has to be terrifying."
"Great."
I looked at the map.
Then back to the great crack. Something glittered brightly off in the distance. It was a large structure, pitch-black, nestled against a sheer cliff just under the shadows.
It almost seemed to flicker. Not the shadows, but the building. I felt a sting in my eyes.
"That"s a cathedral, isn"t it?" Bubbles wondered aloud. "Weird. What"s that kind of thing doing in a place like this?"
"That should be the place on the map." I compared the general position of the building with the picture. "Almost certain."
"Why would you mother bring those friends of yours there?"
"Let"s find out."
I intended to just climb down but Bubbles stopped me. "I got it." And she summoned a giant ball of water. "Go ahead. Enter."
Eying her suspiciously, I did as I was told. I stepped inside, holding my breath, only to find the inside hollow.
My clothes didn"t even get wet. Or rather I felt them get wet but the moisture was sucked out as soon as I got past the barrier of water.
Bubbles came in a moment later. She waved a hand. A window opened up in front of the ball, allowing a clear view outside. "I can manipulate the sphere however I want, even move it through the air. We"ll be able to reach the cathedral in minutes."
"Why the h.e.l.l didn"t we take this thing from the start?" I felt my nose flare. We could"ve saved so much time!
"I didn"t want to ruin our good time together." She avoided my gaze.
"My friends could be dead by now!"
I ignored the fact I took fifteen minutes to have her teach me a few tricks.
"I think your mother would"ve accounted for how much time it"d take to get here." She folded her hands defensively. "How was I to know it"d be this place? That map doesn"t show a very big an area. Besides this consumes a lot energy."
I squinted her. "Really?"
"Your Grace, after how close we"ve become on our short journey together, you would doubt me? Your cute little Bubbles?"
"..."
"What? Why aren"t you saying anything? Don"t look at me like that."
"..."
"Um, you know, it"s bad enough with normal people. But being looked at scornfully by someone so good-looking is way worse, okay? Knock it off, yeah?... No, seriously, stop. You"re making me doubt my self-worth here!"
I sighed. "Whatever. Let"s just get this over with."
She took us closer to the cathedral. We floated in mid-air, observing the area below. What I found most strange was the total lack of life. There were no birds, no plant life, no creatures scuttling about on the floor.
Everything seemed dead.
"I have a bad feeling about this." Bubbles wrung her hands nervously.
"I know." My left nut is never wrong.
I sneezed just then, to my ever growing annoyance. When the h.e.l.l is it going to stop?
"Look at that." I pointed "The boulder over there is perfectly round with markings all over."
She followed my finger. "Primative but powerful siege magic. Used to break down wards." She said at a glance. " There"s more. A lot of them look like they broke apart on impact." She surveyed the area. " There was a great battle here at some point in the past."
Chelse-tired of Bubbles, let"s change it up--set us down gently as we approached the ground and released her water sphere.
She ran a palm along the building"s smooth, obsidian-like surface.
"Black jade." She said. "It"s a type of crystal used to seal energy. I"ve never seen so much of it.The whole thing"s a treasure... "
She marveled, eyes lighting up in a way all too similar to Dolly"s.
I wasn"t as thrilled.
"Satan"s s.h.i.tty a.s.scrack." I cursed. " An ominous building in the middle of nowhere made of a material that"s used to seal things. Why do I feel we"re level 1 scrubs about to encounter the last boss?"
No. Calm down, me. Remember who you are. G.o.d of Ten Thousand b.u.t.tpokes. You got this.
Just charge in and start the molestation.
I psyched myself up.
Looked at the tall wooden doors. And kicked them in.
Chelsea was so scared of the sudden violence and loud boom that she jumped back five feet and hid behind a rock.
Me, I was busy staring at a bunch of grey-robed Aeil surrounding a blood-caked altar.
Upon which a young girl was struggling for freedom.
She was held down by two pairs of hands and a third raised an blue-colored blade aimed at her chest.
I caught a glimpse of her face and the world turned red.
"Get the f.u.c.k away from my daughter!" I bellowed
They had Charlotte!