Chapter 139 – Promises of a Brighter Future

Chapter 139 – Promises of a Brighter Future

The evolution was a painful one. Truly painful, beyond what his original ascension with Aspect of the Devil. Perhaps it was because the biology was so different from his original body, but whatever the case… he had a very hard time not screaming.

Thankfully there were others there to comfort him, and he managed to get through it entirely before a knock on his bedroom door sounded out.

“Trey, are you in there?” Kagdor’s voice called out from the other side. He sounded worried, and a little hesitant. “Lady Okt has called a house meeting.  We’re all supposed to be there six hours from now. Can you hear me? I have something else to speak of.”

Trey slowly turned, adjusting to his four new appendages that sprouted from his back. They were very long, each easily twice the length of his main body, and made of shiny black chitin that ended in spiked tips. He couldn’t see them, but he could feel the glands inside the legs… and was able to producing webbing as it dribbled out of one of the arms as he brought it up in front of his face. “Yes Kagdor… I can hear you. Now is not a good time though… can the discussion wait another hour?”

Kagdor gave a deep grunt of acknowledgement. “Yes. Come find me soon though, before the meeting. It’s important.”

With that, the vampire Trey liked most of the Okt household – aside from the three women in front of him – walked off down the hall and to the spiraling stairway that led to the lower floors.

The mechanical voice echoed through his head. “Your Arachnid skill tree has blessed you with the following evolution: Legs of the Spider King. Legs of the Spider King are able to attach and move up any surface, and are able to produce strands of mana-imbued silk that may be dismissed at a whim but are very hard to break otherwise. The more mana you imbue, the stronger the silk. Legs of the Spider King also have high piercing capabilities with thrusting attacks. Legs of the Spider King also contain secondary glands that create inert egg sacks. Insert inert egg sacks into female host wombs. Egg sacks will merge with female’s naturally produced eggs, and you can then successfully mate to combine with host DNA, making the host a temporary vessel to hatch spiderlings. Egg sacks often produce different offspring, but bloodlines you like can be saved and reproduced as specific egg sacks to insert over time. All spiderling children will consider you their father, the host their mother, and will have the strong inclination to help you but are not under absolute control.”

Well wouldn’t that be convenient.

He doubted he’d use the arms for fighting… they felt rather fragile, even with the chitin armor. However, they’d be seriously useful for the webbing and spawning little spider babies. Extending two arms out to each side, Trey tried using them in conjunction with one another to get himself around the room. They were nimble and fast, but he felt a little awkward and out of place when compared to his normal method of getting around. He could tell they had potential to be much faster than his regular sprint, but that’d have to wait for another time.

Pointing all four of his spider legs out in front of him, he flexed the silk glands simultaneously. Four strands of white silk sprayed out across the room like thin ropes, and stopping to pick one up – he tugged on it. It was as sturdy as steel, and experimenting again he found that he could make them even harder.

“Fascinating.”

Using the secondary gland in his right anterior spider leg, he felt an odd sensation like a squeezing crawl up his leg. A slight bulge at the tip of the leg where the silk had shot out earlier now produced a small white sack, and he glanced over at the four nude women sprawled out or sitting on his bed who were staring him down with mixed expressions.

“Any volunteers?” He asked curiously.

None of the girls knew what he was talking about, and Rusoe had a particularly skeptic look on her features as she stared him down.

He rolled his eyes and shrugged. “Ezdeath it is then.”

He walked over to where the succubus was sitting on the edge of the bed, roughly yanked her forward, spread her legs, and before she knew what was happening – he shoved the egg sack up her vagina. She grimaced, watching the long, arachnid appendage pulse as it drove up inside her – and a moment later she let out a sharp hiss and winced.

He could feel the leg penetrate into her cervix, could feel it pulsing as one egg sack after another was inserted into the succubus and stuck onto her fleshy walls with surgical precision – being stitched in with webbing that had been infused with his own mana. He watched his MP bar dip just slightly when he did so, and immediately realized that these egg sacks could be created multiple times as long as he had more mana to spend on them.

After a couple had been successfully tacked down, he withdrew the spider leg from Edeath’s womb and – for the purposes of science – began to roughly fuck her again. Finishing minutes later and panting from the exertion, he pulled out and waited for something to happen.

Unfortunately, nothing did – other than making Ezdeath rather irritated by the way he’d handled her. She rarely frowned at him, but this time she very much did – and made it obvious that she wasn’t happy by the way she held her stomach with both hands. She even looked worried.

Trey frowned. “Damn. I guess it was too much to expect it to work immediately.”

“Uhm… Trey?” Nothel asked hesitantly eyeing the succubus who looked a little freaked out for lack of a better term as the demoness kept staring at her clutched stomach. “What did you do, exactly?”

“Implanted eggs. I… Oh.” He frowned, then folded his arms as he shook his head. “The eggs probably haven’t taken on Ezdeath’s DNA yet. I don’t know, maybe they have. Anyways, they’re supposed to mix in with a host’s DNA and then when I’m done mating the egg sacks eventually hatch and grow into spiderlings of some sort.”

Ezdeath’s shock turned into disgust, and although she quickly tried to hide it from him – he could tell that she was very, very grossed out by the idea of giving birth to arachnids. She was very bad at faking emotions compared to some of the other women in his harem.

“Don’t worry.” Trey stated with a raised hand as his spider legs retracted into his back. “They won’t hurt you, according to my notification they’ll think you’re their mother.”

Ezdeath didn’t bother replying, instead she just continued to gape at her belly with a mixed expression of horror and shock – her jaw slightly slack as she tried to comprehend what he’d just done to her.

He was about to implant more in the other girls, when he got another notification – and one that made him smile. Turns out he’d done it correctly after all, and that it’d just take some time to come to fruition.

“You have successfully seeded Ezdeath. Estimated time to spawn of spiderlings: 1 week.”

Despite the discomfort and disgust each of the women obviously had as he implanted them, none of them complained even once as he used his new appendages to attach egg sacks to their cervical walls. He got additional messages from the All Spirit about his other spiderling factories after fucking each one of them, but to his surprise they actually came with different amounts of time until spawn. Assuming this was because each woman had different sets of DNA being incorporated into the egg sacks, he could only take it at face value until they hatched and he got to see what exactly popped out.

How exactly WOULD their individual sets of DNA contribute to the monsters he was spawning? He was excited to find out.

“You have successfully seeded Osi. Estimated time to spawn of spiderlings: 3 days.”

“You have successfully seeded Rusoe. Estimated time to spawn of spiderlings: 4 days.”

“You have successfully seeded Nothel. Estimated time to spawn of spiderlings: 4 days.”

Afterwards he got to work contracting the souls of the three vampire women, enslaving their souls without using the charges of his unholy script because they came willing as a type of undead already – allowing him to keep the three charges stored in his left arm for members of the Okt household.

It was also not nearly as painful for the three girls to do it this way. Each of the girls was at a solid level 51, each being given 50 levels by Alkir upon transition – and immediately upon becoming his minions he got another prompt explaining the evolution offered by the dark goddess.

“You have acquired Osi, Rusoe, and Nothel as undead minions. Please visit their status pages for further details.”

“Osi, Rusoe, and Nothel have all been given an optional evolution pathway through Alkir’s will: Pureblood Vampire. Pureblood Vampires are a species of greater undead that have vastly increased base stats when compared to their lesser vampire brethren. Purebloods also have the innate ability to fly, incredible tracking skills, and have a very strong urge to regularly consume large amounts of blood in order to retain sanity. Do you wish to accept this gift and evolve your minions? Yes? No?”

Trey didn’t even bother telling them what was about to happen as he slammed his finger into the ‘Yes’ option. Immediately the three vampiric women in front of him gasped and fell to the ground, clutching at their faces as their bodies ripped and peeled – the bones breaking and reforming as new appendages were grown and facial features perfected themselves. The whites of their eyes became blood red, leaving their pupils brown the way they’d originally been, and their pale skin became bright white and shiny. Bat wings erupted not from their backs, but from underneath their arms as webbing grew out between their extending fingers until they were rolling around on the ground in pain amidst new, leathery blankets connecting their thoraxes to the long claws having come out of their fingers.

The process was a rather long one, and although he told them not to scream to draw attention – Osi had a hard time acknowledging his command even under the influence of the contract. It forced him to get down on his knees and start choking the woman to stop her squeals of pain, and she eventually passed out before he let go of her neck again.

However, when it was all done – the three born-again pureblooded vampires were solid upgrades. They were able to fly, just as the prompt had stated, by sheer speed and strength alone they’d drastically improved on the stats page, and they all looked like life-size barbie-doll equivalents made out of white glass when they retracted their wings and fangs.

“You ladies look hot.” Trey muttered as Osi came back to her senses soon after, and he threw an arm around Ezdeath to bring her in close. “Get me Maltetious’ amulet. We need to speak to the others and get this ball rolling.”

***

The ghost-realm between amulets was rather populated this time. Everyone of importance was in attendance, though he didn’t know how so many of them had received amulets of their own, and Trey had a rather hard time remembering all of their names.

Yastiel, elvish general of Lumenorei’s armies, stood in her ghost form alongside a commander subordinate man named Lueth. Both soldiers stood with their hands clasped behind their backs in full vetteresie plate armor, and had no-nonsense looks on their faces.

Trey’s cousin Carol was furiously glaring Trey’s way, and her friend Silvara was completely avoiding eye contact as she clutched at her body as if his gaze would infect her somehow.

Maltetious, the amazingly pretty numen with long blonde hair who always wore that white Sunday dress, stood opposite Agnude’s worshipers and wore a look of disgust as her eyes trailed the vetteresies… and she stood in front of the others Trey’d met in the past. There was Michael, a huge raven-haired paladin warrior bearing a mace. Chris, another paladin, was almost as tall but less muscular and wielded a spear-sword instead. Itunu was the African man in their party that was specializing in identification as a class, and Aiko was another Japanese girl who’d joined them alongside Itunu. Aside from these people, a shadow fiend named Ikt was present as well.

Ikt essentially looked like the grim reaper, but shadow fiends were demons and not undead. He was a hooded figure that flowed black shadows out from his body, even here in the ghost realm, and he even had a strange scythe with three blades – two on the front, and one in the middle on the back. The only thing that wasn’t completely engulfed in shadows was the plain-white porcelain mask covering his face, but he was still obviously staring at Trey with what could only be excitement by the way he’d groveled upon first introducing himself and the way he still shook with delight even now – just by being in Trey’s presence.

Then there were the regulars of Trey’s party. Sithis, Atharost, and Napoleon were incredibly eager to talk to him and were outwardly happy as they laughed and joked with Trey upon their reunion. Rivia tried to keep her demeanor cool, but she was very obviously chomping at the bit to talk to him as well while her ghost form pushed the others out of the way to get to the front where she could see Trey more clearly. Piggy and Juila were less forward about their enthusiasm, as the hierarchy of Trey’s minions demanded them to be submissive to the others, and Telipe kept back in a curled up ball like an abused puppy as she put her head between her knees and waited for it to all be over.

Ashe, Jason and Izumi merely smiled and watched most of the minions do their own versions of a happy dance to greet Trey again, and it took him a while to calm Napoleon and then Piggy down so that he could go speak to the others.

“Took you long enough.” Juila snorted, punching her ghostly hand through Trey’s shoulder.

“Don’t get an attitude with me, missy. If it weren’t for me, you’d have donated your organs to the fine people of Teretog that night on the docks..” Trey grinned while passing the tall, muscular demoness by with a slap of her ghostly ass – and he got a humph in reply. He stopped in front of the other Earthborn a moment later then folded his arms and looked them up and down. “Ashe. You have your new class! Congratulations.”

Ashe grinned widely and stepped forward to give him a hug. “Good to see you again. It’s been a while.”

He chuckled, hugging her back and patting her fox ears lightly when he let go. “Yes it has been. We have a lot of catching up to do.”

She rolled her eyes, then shot Carol a brief glance of annoyance meant to send him a message. “Yes. Yes we do.”

“That bad huh?”

“Definitely that bad.”

“Damn.” He gave her an apologetic shrug and rubbed his forehead. “Alright, tell me all about it… but not now. We’ve got to get this show rolling.”

Ashe humphed, but then hiked a thumb back over her shoulder. “Izumi’s missed you too. She’s been worried about you.”

“Really?”

“Yup. Jason… not so much, but you two never really got along well anyways. He still thinks you’re an asshole.”

“I kind of am an asshole.”

“True, but not to us.”

They both laughed, pausing when Izumi walked up. The Japanese girl folded her arms and harumphed.  “I heard you talking about me. What did you say?”

“That you’re a midget.” Trey confirmed with a sagely nod. “Definitely that.”

Izumi punched him in the shoulder, the grinned and came in for a hug as well. “Missed you buddy. Glad you’re ok.”

“Same to you. How’s your smithing coming along?”

Izumi’s eyes lit up at the question, and she let go while clasping her hands in front of her excitedly. “Great! I actually have a bunch of new inventions… Napoleon has been helping me out, and Alkir gave me a new class with a bunch of weird demonic schematics and even a portable forge! Oh my god, they’re so cool! Who knew being friends with a friend of an evil goddess would come with such cool perks, right!?”

Trey’s jaw slowly fell, and his eyebrows furrowed. Putting his hands on his hips, he lowered his head to meet her eye to eye. “Huh?”

“Yup!” Izumi squealed with excitement, flapping her arms about rapidly. “I’m an ‘Infernal Smith’! You can only become one with the direct blessing of one of the Infernal Crowns and it allows me to channel Alkir’s power into weapons and armor I make. It also allows me to use infernal-classed materials that were given to me in bulk by some of Alkir’s gargoyles, they dropped the bags off yesterday so I haven’t played with them too much. Telipe has been my assistant and she’s been helping me enchant some of the stuff I made, and she got a bunch of new books of ancient rune lore and we’ve been combining them with my mech to go-”

“Wait, you’ve got a MECH?!”

“Oh yeah! I named it Tobius and it seats two people, it’s been a dual project between me and Telipe! It’s got flamethrowers, a gauss cannon for sniping longer range opponents, magic missiles, shielding an enchanted gatling gun and everything, I used it in the last battle and it works really well. We mowed down an entire enemy battalion! The problem is it’s very expensive to use and make, so replicating it will be difficult, and finding power supplies would be hard. We used the core we bought back in Teretog to power it and then upgraded it with some more of the stuff Alkir gave me, and the runes were engraved by Telipe’s enchanting capabilities. She’s supposed to get an evolution as well, but it’s a class evolution and you need to approve it before Telipe can utilize it. Alkir talked to me about what I would need to improve my stuff and she thinks Telipe would be a good paired match. I even created the second seat in Tobius for her specifically, Telipe was the one in the back working the gauss cannon! You need to treat Telipe better by the way, she’s still really scared of you. She turns into a completely different person when she’s around me, and I think she’s really funny. Got it?”

The words just streamed out of Izumi like a fountain. She’d been cooping that up for some time now, that much was obvious, and she was practically brimming with excitement at the possibilities.

Trey just gawked. Mechs? Really?

He was even kind of jealous. HE wanted to create mechs, and it was really cool to see Izumi fill into a roll like that. It was also nice to see Telipe come to some use after all this time. Trey’d enslaved her back in Teretog quite a while ago and the only thing she’d been good for thus far was bending over and grunting as he got off.

He’d definitely have to see what this class upgrade was, and soon.

Fuck it. He’d just look now. He opened up his status page, selected Telipe’s name, and raised his eyebrows as a notification appeared before the actual status page did.

“Alkir has offered Telipe the ‘Infernal Runecrafter’ class, but Telipe is unable to accept this class without her master’s permission. ‘Infernal Runecrafter’ is a specialized type of enchanter class, making the one who dons this class unable to enchant items with other types of magic but vastly increasing the potency of any black magics she inscribes. Also, Infernal Runecrafters will be able to create magically inscribed runes without needing the aid of mages to channel the magic. Instead, Infernal Runecrafters use their connection to the Infernal Crown associated with them to channel the magic directly, leveling up their ability to create more complex runes with only their own knowledge on the matter stopping them. Do you wish to accept this class for your minion Telipe? Yes? No?”

Trey grinned and selected Yes. Having Telipe do this by herself instead of needing a mage to use her as a conduit would seriously impact how she could be put to use. Production would skyrocket, as the major limiting factor on using her in the first place was that he was always busy.

“Your minion Telipe has become an Infernal Runecrafter. Congratulations! See her status page for more detailed information.”

He closed out the notification and her status screen and caught Telipe’s expression out of the corner of his eye. From where he was standing, he saw an enormous smile cross her face as she covered her mouth with both hands and stamped her foot twice – but quickly resumed her normal sullen posturing when she realized he was watching.

“Well, go talk to her. She seems rather excited about it too.”

Izumi laughed, gave him a friendly nudge and thanked him before skipping over to where Telipe was stationed as the two girls began to animatedly talk about what their new plans for the mech were after they could utilize Telipe’s new class and the runes Alkir had supplied them with.

“I thought she was going to become a summoner too…” Trey muttered to Ashe as Izumi left. “Alkir had mentioned to me that I might want to consider her as one.”

“Alkir offered to expedite her training after she did the same for me.” Ashe confirmed, smiling Trey’s way. “That goddess is incredibly intimidating by the way… but Izumi declined for this instead.”

“I don’t blame her. Sounds fucking cool bro.”

“Bro? I’m a girl.”

“A lesbian girl.”

“That doesn’t make me a bro.”

“It basically does.”

“Shut up or I’ll cut you in your sleep.”

Knowing Ashe, she wouldn’t hesitate to do just that – so he quickly shut his mouth and received another grin from his good friend in turn. He then gave a friendly wave to Jason, who returned it but didn’t bother coming over to say hi.

“How’s Jason been other than still thinking I’m an asshole?”

“He’s improving his alchemy, but is always in a sour mood.”

“Figured. Do you need help acquiring more minions? How much willpower do you have?

“I’d love help getting more minions! Do you really have time to do that? Don’t you have all these ‘Vatosis Inferna’ responsibilities?”

“Shut up. I’ll help you, just remind me sometime when we’re not so busy.”

She gave him a violent slap on the back of his head and giggled. “It’s a date!”

He scowled at her, rubbing the back of his head with a snort. “Definitely not a date. I get laid on dates.”

Ashe gave him a wink. “I’m going to want to trade you for Juila, you know.”

“Not happening. I don’t think it even CAN happen due to her unique contract.”

“We’ll talk about it later.”

Ashe let the conversation drop off as a loud, irritated clearing of a throat was heard to their left. Both of them turned to see Carol, who’d walked up to them with a cold glare Ashe’s way.

“I need to speak to my cousin privately before this meeting truly starts, and seeing that our little antichrist is too busy catching up to start it… The time might as well be now.” Carol flung her long blonde hair out to the side from underneath her helmet with a swish of her hand and then motioned for Ashe to leave. “Shoo bitch. Go away, you’re dismissed.”

Ashe gritted her teeth, but shot Trey another ‘I told you so’ look and turned around to give them some space.

Trey on the other hand just glared down at Carol with obvious dissatisfaction. “Don’t talk to my friends that way again.”

Snorting in derision and folding her arms with a holier-than-thou look, Carol shot Ashe another sneer. “Why you choose to associate with creatures like that is beyond me. Do you have a thing for fox girls? Are you an anime weeb, simping over fantasy creatures like that? That’s the only explanation I can think of, because she has the personality of a barbarian.”

“And yet she’s not nearly as much of a self centered bitch as you can be.” Trey retorted with a sneer equaling her own. “What do you want Carol? I’ve been hearing stories about your… escapades… and I really don’t appreciate you putting my friends in danger.”

Smugness crossed Carol’s face, and she lifted the green ghostly vettersie helmet off her head, placing one hand on a protruding hip to look at him as if he were dumb. “I’ll do as I damn well please. I’m the mouthpiece of Agnude.”

“One of two, and your Agnude follows Alkir’s orders.”

She scoffed. “Alkir’s orders. Agnude is an ally, not a subordinate, and nor am I. Lots of things have changed since we left Earth, little cousin, and I am far more ruthless than you are. I always was, that’s why the family put me in charge of Louisiana to begin with… while sticking you in Dallas to run a little side gig.”

She was baiting him, and he knew it. He didn’t respond with anger though, and it was obvious she was disappointed when he failed to reply. “I’m here because I want to know what the fuck you think you’re doing with my friend.”

“You’re friend?”

“Silvara.”

Trey looked past Carol, over her head, to where the silver-haired elf princess stood at attention and avoided his gaze. “Her, right? I had nothing to do with it.”

Carol jabbed a finger into Trey’s chest, snarling this time with true anger and venom in her words. “Silvara is not to be touched. Do you understand me? She is my only true friend here in this shitty existence, and she’s not going to join your army of concubines to become just another whore. I know you somehow schemed with your fucking bitch of a goddess to get Agnude to agree to it, but this wedding you’re having is a farce. You being named emperor is a farce. So this is what’s going to happen instead…”

Carol leaned in threateningly, but put her lips up to his ear so that only he could hear. “You’re going to marry her as Agnude and Alkir command, sealing the alliance, but you won’t touch her or harm her in any way. It will be for appearances only, and you will leave both me and Silvara to going about ruling Lumenorei as an allied and separate entity from whatever fucking conquests you see yourself taking later on. Silvara and I have plans of our own, and I won’t have my fucking idiot younger cousin – who just happened to stumble upon a void essence by accident – ruin them for me.  You’re nothing special, Trey. You’re nothing. If it’d been me, I’d have taken Eleknar too. It’s our bloodline, and nothing more. We may be special because of our inherent powers, but you yourself are inadequate and always have been. I still remember what you did to my brother, Trey. When you shot out his kneecap? Fuck you. Fuck everything about you. I will be cordial, but you will obey my rules and will do as I say or by god I will have my warriors gut you and yours in an instant.”

Trey tried not to smile as he remembered the day he blasted Chad’s kneecap. His last day on Earth, in the warehouse when he finally put Chad in his place. God that’d felt so good, and he’d almost forgotten about his asshat of a cousin entirely.

He’d also forgotten Carol was Chad’s older sister, so it made sense that she’d be mad about that.

But still! Trey had saved Carol’s life, and they were still family. He’d let Chad live even despite the things he’d said about Amanda back then.

God. Amanda. Trey’d forgotten all about his ex girlfriend too. This time though, he couldn’t help letting the smile out… because by all the gods in the universe had he gotten over her.

“Your threats are full of hot air.” Trey said with a wink, backing away with a single step. “However, I suggest you really think about things before making them again. I won’t tell you even one more time, but putting my friends in danger like you’ve done won’t be tolerated. I know how things were back on Earth, and how much of a hothead you are. But consider this… if I’m willing to do that Chad over the things he said about Amanda, what do you think I’ll do to you if you actually get one of the people I care about truly hurt? I don’t know the situation or deals struck between Agnude and Alkir, but I’d be very, very careful about who you threaten. You might just find yourself without a title if you keep that up, especially if your actions threaten your chosen Numen’s plans because of old habits dying hard. So here’s what’s ACTUALLY going to happen… You keep your nose out of my business. Play nice with me like we used to do as kids, and we can both see ourselves succeed. Don’t repeat the things you’ve done in recent weeks and-”

“What things have I done in recent weeks that are so terrible?” Carol snapped back at him, interrupting his sentence. “I did nothing that I would not do again.”

Trey’s eyebrows raised again. “Oh? You really don’t know? From what I’ve been told it’s a number of things. You declared war on the local kingdom, raised five villages to the ground, took numerous slaves and then sacrificed them all when they didn’t work hard enough in building your altars. You attracted the attention of holy crusaders numerous times because you were bored and involved my minions and friends in your asinine battles, claiming glory for Agnude and leaving none for Alkir while my minions do most of the work. You even claim the spoils! You antagonize Taen regularly, goading him into fights and killing his zombies for shits and giggles. You torture the local farmers for fun, peeling their skin off and then making them walk on hot coals when they simply don’t have enough vegetables to feed both you and their families. You know, I may be an asshole. I may be a terrible person. I do terrible things all the time, and in large part I think our entire family is a bunch of truly bad people. But out of all of us, you and your fucking bastard of a brother were the worst. It’s sad, because you used to be a great girl, and I saved you from Vorganoth purely because you were of my own blood. Not because I thought you were worth saving otherwise.”

“And you used to be a great guy.” Carol shot back heatedly, stepping in again to close the distance. “But that’s not the life we live anymore, is it? We became what we had to be and I won’t apologize for the things I’ve done.”

Trey rolled his eyes. “Don’t act like a fucking martyr, you did those things for your own pleasure. Just like I do. Now fuck off so we can start this meeting.”

“Not until you tell me you’re going to leave Silvara alone.”

Trey frowned, glanced over to the elf princess, then back to Carol. “As long as you play nice with my people, I’ll play nice with yours. That doesn’t mean I won’t be utilizing Lumenorei to my own ends initially, but once I get things rolling I’ll try to keep a hands off approach. Then you and your bitch friend can have your little kingdom within my empire to play house with all you want.”

He extended a hand, and Carol coldly stared back – but eventually accepted his handshake with a nod.

“You’ve got yourself a deal. Leave Silvara out of this and don’t defile her, and I’ll be sure not to implicate your friends in anymore of my… past time activities.”

They released their grips on one another and Carol stepped back. She gave him a single affirmative nod, then moved to tell Silvara the good news.

Trey watched her go, shaking his head and sighing. Well at least that was over with. Hopefully she wouldn’t do anything else stupid until he was able to get her out of his hair.

A feminine voice from behind him that sounded akin to wind chimes whispered in his ear. “She really is a cunt, that one.”

Glancing over his shoulder, he saw Maltetious watching over his shoulder as Carol left. Maltetious was incredibly pretty, and she had a reputation for being the ‘Mad Numen,’ or ‘crazed,’ and that she hated Agnude over a past feud they’d had… but that’s all he really knew about her. He was rather curious about her past, and was rather glad to have such a powerful ally on his side now that Zekul was the target. Perhaps having Maltetious there to help him fight Aktovan would be the keystone in ensuring none of his minions died in the process, because from what he’d heard – the vampiric numen Aktovan was one tough son of a bitch.

“Hello Maltetious, it’s nice to see you again. Though I don’t think I made a proper introduction last time.” He turned, bowed respectively, and kissed her hand like any 1700’s English gentleman would. “Thank you for coming, and yes… my cousin is a real cunt.”

Maltetious chuckled, looking over her shoulder at Taen with a large grin on her face. “Don’t do things like that Trey, I can have Taen thinking I have the hots for anyone but him.”

“You like Taen?”

“Taen is my man servant, and he is mine to wed one day. He just doesn’t know it yet.”

Vaguely remembering a conversation with Taen back in Teretog, Trey began to slowly smile. Within the depths of Xil’s tomb, Taen had told him about the soul binding contracts Maltetious had put on him and his two Earthborn friends – Michael and Chris. How she’d done nearly the equivalent of an enslavement contract like the type he used, though with different specifications and more ways to break out of it. They’d been sent on quests for her, and that’s how Trey had met Taen in the first place – she’d wanted to find an artifact there called ‘The Ring of Shadows,’ but to his understanding she’d all but abandoned her previous quests now that she’d been talking to Alkir. Instead, Maltetious was now focused on acquiring power through the elder goddess Alkir… and utilizing their alliance to prepare herself for the coming of the great merging and the opening of the Labyrinth.

“Doesn’t Taen have a girlfriend already?” Trey asked curiously, inwardly chuckling as he intentionally pressed her buttons. “I thought that Taen had met some girl in Dioko. Dirty blonde, tan, really good looking… has a father who’s a fisherman.”

He trailed off as he received a venomous, fiery glare.

“That mortal wench will die a slow death one day.” Maltetious said flatly, straightening out her white Sunday dress with a snort. “I know of her. But Taen is mine, I created him.”

“Created him? He’s from Earth.”

“A copy of his Earthborn self, nothing more.”

“Seriously?”

“I do not lie.”

Trey frowned skeptically. He didn’t really care either way, but doubted Maltetious could do such a thing. It may be possible, but more likely than not she was just blowing hot air up his ass. Or maybe she really believed it and was just crazy like all the rumors said. He used to think that the crazy, hot girls were the most fun, but had learned the hard way that wasn’t always the case. Especially in Maltetious’ case, where she wielded cosmic power in a level far higher than your average archmage, having her as a crazy stalker wouldn’t bode well for any potentials one would truly be interested in dating. They may end up dead, or maybe even worse.

Poor, poor Taen. The necromancer really had his luck cut out for him.

He felt another tap on his shoulder, and was brought back to reality as Maltetious head-bobbed over to where Yastiel stood.

“Out of all the vetteresie warriors I have met…” Maltetious said with a hesitant hum to her words. “Yastiel and Lueth are the two that stand out as the most admirable. They are honorable, skilled in the blade, and rather amazing commanders. Though it pains me to say it, I wish they were my subordinates and not the followers of that bastard Agnude. As a sign of respect for your position, Vatosis Inferna and Heir of the Void, I suggest you speak to them independently of your cousin. Yastiel is Agnude’s first mouthpiece, whereas Carol is his second, and Yastiel has far more experience in matters of warfare than you’d imagine. She will be a valuable asset in the years to come, if you truly are going to become emperor over the lands of Lumenorei. She was also the one to conquer the lands of Kag’Dul, and will no doubt have supplied your goddess with numerous slaves you can force into worship.”

Trey was slightly taken aback by Maltetious’ praise for the vetteresie general, and followed her gaze over to where Yastiel and Lueth stood silently evaluating everyone else in great patience. Yastiel was half a foot shorter than Trey was with long brunette hair, emerald eyes and very tanned skin. She looked to hold herself with extreme confidence, and remained relaxed with both hands clasped behind her in her full plate mail armor set. Lueth, a blonde elf with hair out in a ponytail behind him, had sharp and hawklike features. Lueth also seemed at ease, wearing the same type of armor thet Carol, Yastiel and Silvara wore – but was much stockier and had a lot more muscle on him than the women did.

“Lueth is Yastiel’s subordinate then?” Trey confirmed.

Maltetious nodded, prodding him gently with a finger. “Go on. Introduce yourself. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed, though don’t tell them it was me that suggested it… They grew up from being mere children hating me, indoctrinated by their numen Agnude to think I was evil. The fragile relationship Agnude and I have now could easily fall apart if Alkir wasn’t present, so keep my name entirely out of it. Just remember, they’re going to be YOUR subordinates soon… and you must think of them as your people instead of Carol’s people. You must stop thinking of the elves of Lumenorei as a tool, but rather as a part of yourself if you really wish to retain power over their kingdom and gain their respect.”

Trey didn’t bother telling Maltetious about the deal he’d struck with Carol, because he wasn’t even sure he as going to keep that deal to begin with. Carol was a loaded gun and he was sure she had plans of her own to manipulate him in any way she could to get ahead. So he took Maltetious’ advice, put on a brave face, and began to head over to where Lueth and Yastiel were standing separately from the other two vetteresie women. It was a good sign at that, because it meant Yastiel was not close with Carol or Silvara and that he could potentially use the politics of their nation to get an in with someone higher up.

Yastiel’s eyes rested on him when he was halfway to her, and Lueth’s soon followed. Both elves straightened as he approached, but surprisingly they also both gave him head-nods as he stopped before them.

“Hello, Heir of Eleknar.” Yastiel said with a move to greet him – extending a hand out in friendship while retaining an aura of seriousness. “It is a pleasure to meet you after that display you put on, killing Vorganoth’s wielder and breaking the cursed sword. I was impressed.”

Lueth remained silent, but he gave another nod of affirmation and let his superior officer do the talking for him.

He took her hand and shook with a newfound respect for the woman. It was a good first impression, at the very least. “I’ve heard you’re very good at what you do, Yastiel. Your reputation precedes you.”

The general politely smiled. “I do what is needed of me. I hear that you are to become our new emperor soon, by Agnude’s order. An emperor to rule over not only Lumenorei and Kag’Dul, but soon the famed vampire city of Zekul as well. I must wonder though… what does a dark goddess, who usually is worshipped by demons, want with the likes of elves?”

It was a question directed at him, and almost an accusation.

Trey sighed, rubbed the back of his head, and let his tail swish out to either side a few times as he thought on how to respond. “You’re worried your people are being used.”

“I do.” Yastiel said flatly, her emerald eyes blazing with a fierce determination that Trey admired. “I’m glad you are not stupid and realized what I was getting at. That’s a good sign. Agnude is a Numen, not an elder god, and despite what that naïve cousin of yours thinks… his power does not stand up to Alkir’s own. I worry that his hand may be forced into situations that do not favor my people if things spiral down a certain way… and I am hoping that I will be able to convince you to that the elves of Lumenorei are worth saving. Not just to be used as fodder for your ambitions, which I am obligated to serve you for regardless of my thoughts on the matter as long as it be Agnude’s will, but also as a people that can be counted amongst Alkir’s faithful to serve her growing power in this area… and an army that is both efficient, and fierce.”

He could already tell he was going to like this… Yastiel character.

“You drive home a hard selling point upon first meeting me.” Trey muttered with an amused undertone, letting go of her hand and dropping it to his side.

“I’ve done my research.” Yastiel stated with a nod. “I know all about you. Your desires, your ambitions. The desires and ambitions of both the goddess you serve, and the essence Eleknar that has bonded with you… both of which I have no doubt are listening in on this conversation even as we speak.

A flash of a demonic, grinning visage appeared on Trey’s face for a split second as Eleknar let out a laugh, but the laugh echoed and died as Trey immediately retained control again.

“Sorry.” Trey stated with an apologetic smile after he realized Eleknar had startled both elves in the process. “I put him back in his cage. Bad Eleknar. Bad, bad Eleknar.”

Trey scolded the essence with a wink their way, and both elves laughed nervously as Eleknar fumed inside Trey’s mind and started berating him with insults – which Trey simply chose to ignore. Something about apes and peasants, and the burning of Trey’s soul.

Eleknar would get over it.

“So what do you know about me? Do tell, I’m interested to see what your theories are.”

Yastiel had already regained her composure, and she straightened up with that same confident expression he’d originally seen on her when first examining the soldier. “I’ve talked to Agnude and Carol both. I’ve read on the histories of Eleknar, and even gotten my hands on one of Alkir’s writs.”

“Wait, you have? Which one is it?” Trey asked curiously, eager to get ahold of more of those writs. The last time he got ahold of one of those sacred writs, Rivia had been all over him – enthusiastically – for weeks. She’d cried tears of joy and it was one of the happiest moments she’d ever had, or so she claimed. Not only that, but Rivia could really use more of those writs to fulfill that quest on the path to sainthood. Having her attain sainthood underneath Alkir would be phenomenal, and Trey’s curious gaping widened into a toothy smile as he heard Yastiel’s reply.

“The Seventh Writ…” Yastiel replied hesitantly, not sure why he was asking. “Why?”

Quickly pulling up his old notifications and scrolling through to find the one pertaining to Rivia, he nodded in satisfaction.

• (Pertaining to Rivia) Path to Sainthood (Epic Quest): You have      been marked as one of the most devout of Alkir, and she has recognized the      soulstone given to you by Eleknar’s Heir as a sign of his long term goals      to invest in you. Because of this, you may now embark upon the Path to Sainthood.      Requirements: Collect all 7 of Alkir’s Writs, and decipher each of their      Tier 2 miracles. Then sacrifice 10 souls every day over 7 days to Alkir      under the cloak of night and bathe in their blood while praying to the      dark goddess. Lastly, your master: Trey Bon, must fully bond with Eleknar      - only then will you achieve the great gift of becoming one of Alkir’s      Saints.

Had the portal miracle Rivia learned been one of those tier 2 miracles her quest was asking her of? God damn it he really needed to catch up. Glancing Rivia’s way and getting a genuine, warm smile from his priestess, he promised himself internally that he’d spend more time with the minions he really cared about now that they were all back together again.

Maybe he’d even have a ‘minion’s night out’ kinda thing. Barhopping, board games, playing pool… the things he used to do when he was back on Earth. That’d be cool. Orgies and the quest for power was nice and all… but he really needed to invest in the relationships he already had.

Ashe would be all about it. He should get her and Izumi to join him.

“I’ll… buy that book from you.” Trey said with a mischevious smile. “Please?”

“You don’t have access to it already?”

Trey shook his head. “No. I’m supposed to collect all 7 of them for that culn girl over there, the pretty purple one with the horns. She’s got a quest and I think Alkir wants her to work for it. I think I’ve already gotten her the 1st and 3rd writs? The 7th would be great.”

An amused grin crossed Yastiel’s face, and she slowly nodded. “I’ll give it to you for free as a sign of good faith when I reach Zekul and we conquer the city… I must say, you’re rather different than I’d first pictured you as.”

“Oh? That brings us back to what your theories were. Sorry to interrupt! Carry on, I’m still curious.”

Lueth and Yastiel exchanged glances, and Lueth even smirked slightly, before Yastiel turned back to Trey with folded arms.

“Anyways…” Yastiel began, her features growing more grim. “The ancient texts speak of Eleknar’s previous conquests. Mortal races such as elves, dwarves and men were never held in high regard, and were – without fail – always used as slaves for the demons that conquered them. In the height of Eleknar’s power, he would even make games for his own amusement encompassing genocides of people just like my own… racing his archdemon subordinates to see who could create the most death in less than a week.

‘Aha… I remember those days. Good times.’Eleknar muttered from within Trey’s mind.

“But now that he’s chosen you, Trey, as the next heir… things are different.” Yastiel said, slightly uplifted from her worries with a change in the tone of her voice. “You are human, but not only are you human – you’re predictable. It’s fairly obvious from the information that I’ve gathered that you’re being manipulated, but you probably know this already and either don’t care or think the perks outweigh the negatives.”

Trey bobbed his head from side to side, then smiled. “Go on.”

Yastiel leaned in, then glanced over to Rivia. She pointed to the culn priestess, then to Ezdeath, then to the three vampires Osi, Nothel and Rusoe. She pointed out Juila, Telipe, and Piggy after that. “How many of your minions happen to be powerful, beautiful women Trey? I count 8.”

“Telipe isn’t necessarily powerful…” Trey protested, but then nodded. “I see your point, and yes I’m very aware of what Alkir is doing. A lot of those minions were directly given to me through Alkir and Eleknar. Rivia is a priestess of Alkir sent to guide me in the beginning. Juila and Piggy were created from enslaved thralls through evolution stones. Osi, Nothel and Rusoe were transformed just today through means I’m not quite sure of, as was Telipe. Ezdeath was Eleknar’s subordinate even before I was born, an elite guardian of his unholy capital before it fell in the last golden age of his power. But you know, even though you might be right… Eleknar and Alkir have done some real solids for me even aside from manipulating me through sex. They’ve kept me alive by supplying me with Talsh’Noc’Un and Sithis. They’ve helped my friends. Just ask Ashe and Izumi about their own classes – and I have no emotional or sexual investment with them at all. I would say that it’s less that I’m being manipulated… and more that they just know what I want.”

Yastiel held up a hand apologetically. “I regress. I did not mean to say that they were doing so maliciously, and I misspoke. Please do not think that I am trying to drive a wedge between you and them. If all goes well, your progress will be my own, and I will be serving under your orders in the future… despite what Carol and Silvara have to say about it.”

Yastiel shot the other two vetteresie women an annoyed look, then continued on as if it had never been spoken. “What I mean to get at… is that I hope your humanity, your ability to know what it is like to be one of us, and not always having had such power… that you will keep it in mind when your final ascension is at hand. That you were once like us… and to have mercy on my people for it. I will do everything in my power to help you succeed, I just ask that you remember what I did for you when you were weaker… in the days that you become your strongest.”

This time, Yastiel’s words were filled with emotion, and Trey even saw tears in her eyes. This general, one that was praised by even her most hated enemies, was seriously concerned about the future of Lumenorei’s citizens.

God damn. His respect for this woman had just blown a fucking hole in the roof.

Mouth agape and not knowing what to say at first Trey slowly nodded and began to outwardly laugh. Placing his hands on his head and whistling, he let out a long exhale. “Wow. You’re really not what I expected. You must really care a lot about your homeland.”

“I do.” Yastiel said, now flushing with embarrassment as she wiped away a tear. “I apologize for my moment of weakness. I just worry about our future, and worry that Agnude is making a poor… excuse me, that Agnude may not be able to guarantee our safety in the future. But you… YOU can. You can guarantee it. You can guarantee us a brighter future, if it is something you wish to do.”

The armored general knelt before him, and Lueth followed suit – both laying down their ghostly swords before him. “We swear to do your bidding as long as Agnude’s word bids us, and we swear to serve both Alkir and Eleknar to the fullest. All we ask, is that you not leave us stranded when the high tide comes… and you are able to stop it.”

This action had garnered the attention of everyone else there, and the proclamation had been one that all had heard. Carol and Silvara both stared aghast at the two other vetteresies, while Maltetious nodded in satisfaction and Trey’s minions were flatly confused or pleased.

Trey himself was rather startled yet again by the general’s actions, and he knelt down next to her so that his eyes met hers as he lifted both of their chins with a hand. “I want you both to know that I am not a good person. I am no savior of your people, nor am I a great leader. I was flung into this position undeservingly and through sheer dumb luck… but if you are genuine in what you say, then this I can promise you. I won’t let Lumenorei’s people become slaves, fodder, or expendable pawns in Alkir’s plans… or Eleknar’s plans for that matter, if it is something I can prevent. If you help me now, help me ascend to greater power so that I don’t have to worry about armies of holy crusaders knocking at my door every other month… then I will certainly remember your actions, and can promise not only freedom for the people of Lumenorei – but protection, if I truly become what you all think I’m destined to be.”

Yastiel’s face paled as she held her breath, and then a single sob escaped her lips as her head dropped in submission. Lueth too had teared up, and he put a warm hand on Trey’s shoulder.

“Thank you.” Lueth said with a smile. “We were so worried about the path Agnude had taken… but perhaps, with you as the heir, his sights were set higher than we’d ever thought possible for our kin. We will follow you, Heir of Eleknar, and hope for your success. I pledge myself to your service, just as Yastiel does, as long as it is Agnude’s will.”

Trey nodded, getting up and cracking his back with a stretch as the two commanders stood with him. Looking around the room and waving to the others, he motioned for everyone to gather around. “Alright people. It’s time we decide a course of action. We have a vampire city to conquer, a fallen archangel to summon, and a numen to kill. I’m going to tell you all the general course of action, and then I’d like your input… as we only have a couple weeks until Yastiel and Lueth arrive with the majority of Agnude’s southernmost legions arriving at the mountain Zekul is buried in.”