The Lost Lord Ch. 18

"Mistress... I thought you would wish for Rainer to be only yours, yet you are encouraging Lauren to become closer to Master? I am in awe of your tolerance." Praised the Fallen Angel as she and Nerissa took several steps back in order to spectate the fight between Lauren and her dragon against Luce and his beasts.

"Now that they are gone, let us continue. Show me what you can really do..." Luce said this with fervor in his eyes as he ran towards Lauren, arms outstretched.

'Young witch, may I recommend that you move on to a new pact? I am fully capable of supporting the link that ties me here. You focus your magic elsewhere. I don't really care for the young Jinn taking advantage of the situation.' These words came from the telepathic link between Lauren and the dragon she summoned, Fáfnir. This time, he offered his advice.

'Ah, ok... I can't win without using another one of my pacts, probably the wendigo... Though I already wasted my usage of it for now.' And these words are what Lauren said back to Fáfnir as she replied to his wisdom. The witch pondered what pact she should take advantage of now for a straight up melee battle. (The Pact of the Nemean would be the most logical choice right now, as it would harden my skin to levels of the toughest of forged armors. The Pact of the Wraith is best for sneak attacks. The Pact of the Minotaur would also be extremely useful in this situation, though I can't see an effective way to use it. The Pact of the Fenrir is the same, though it might come in handy. The Pact of the Kraken... That one is too unpredictable on land. The Pact of the Manticore, which might be my key here. Ok, right then, I know what I want to do...)

"I humbly call upon the pact with thy honored beast

The ferocious and mighty Nemean Lion that bows to none

Give me your hide, and may it protect my being."

Suddenly, Lauren felt a prickly feeling dot around her skin, everywhere. Many places itched and Lauren fought the irresistible urge to scratch at them. As if a thousand calluses formed across her body, Lauren's skin hardened and thickened to an annoying level. She didn't particularly care for this skill, as it was quite unpleasant, yet despite that, it still had its uses.

The transformation finished just in time, as Luce slammed down his club-like scepter onto Lauren's shoulder. Instead of the bone shattering, like the Djinn expected, the toughened skin absorbed the impact and it spread through her body, minimizing the damage.

"That's going to leave a bruise on my beautiful skin... I hate it when my skin bruises. (Like over-ripened fruit, ew) What'll happen if Rainer finds me unattractive now?" A pleasant smile formed on Lauren's lips as she spoke, a smile generally unfit for a duel like theirs.

Lauren pushed back Luce, causing him to stumble on a rock behind his foot. Taking advantage of that, she stabbed downwards with her dagger, releasing an unorthodox punch at the same time at his body. The Djinn barely managed to block the more dangerous of the attacks, the dagger, and swept it off to the side. The punch landed a heavy blow on his ribcage, most likely shattering or breaking one or two rib bones. Luce coughed up some blood as he quickly stood up again, despite the painful injury.

Lauren was more surprised than Luce at the effectiveness of her attack now, maybe she could finish this without relying on another pact. She picked up a rock and tossed it faster than a baseball player in Luce's direction. He blocked it with his wrist, narrowly deflecting the rock off to the side.

While Lauren's skin was toughened, Luce's muscles had formed a suit of thin armor underneath his own skin, which could deflect attacks and absorb blows. Though his muscly armor was useless if he didn't tense up at the right moment, which previously let Lauren's punch hit. He smashed another rock that was thrown at him with his scepter, and then at high speed, he twisted his trusty scepter around his head and attacked Lauren downwards.

The witch sidestepped his attack and grabbed the Djinn's arms. She smashed a palm upwards under his elbows, hoping to damage the bones in his arms. Luce stopped the potentially harmful attack with his other arm, swinging it at the witch's head.

The fight continued for many more minutes, both unleashing a flurry of hand to hand, scepter, and dagger attacks; with most of them blocked and the rest leaving blemishes on each other's skin.

Lauren was hoping Fáfnir was all right, but she couldn't look at him without paying the price for diverting her attention away from Luce. In actuality, Fáfnir had long done away with the beasts Luce had sent after the dragon, dispensing one with his boulder crushing jaws and the other with a combination attack of frigid breath and a swipe of his claws. If this was a more threatening circumstance, he would have interfered with Lauren's fight, assisting the one he formed a pact with, yet he saw no need to assist the young witch against her fight with the rash Jinn.

Lauren, though she wanted to not rely on another pact, saw a chance where another one would be useful, and she took that chance. Time to rely on the Fenrir Wolf.

"This pact with the noble beast

The un-yielding wolf that bites through even gods

Grant me your savage fangs, so that I may finish the hunt."

As the pact alluded to, Lauren felt a change around her jaw and teeth. The Pact of the Fenrir granted its user a bite that rivals none but its own kind. If she wanted to, Lauren could chew through the toughest of metal alloys. There was only a single metal that the Fenrir could not resist, and fortunately its existence is not known in the human world, heaven, or the circles.

The situation Lauren was taking advantage of was one where Lauren had managed to pin Luce to the ground. Luce had overextended himself when he unleashed a spinning kick against Lauren, which landed, but Lauren somehow managed to divert the momentum to force Luce to the ground. She had pinned both of his arms down and immobilized his legs. If she moved even an inch with her limbs, Luce would be able to escape and deal a potentially mortal blow to the witch. Yet Lauren did not need to rely on her hands and legs to win this fight, all she needed was a strong bite.

With sharpened fangs that belonged only on a bloodthirsty Fenrir Wolf, Lauren lowered them to Luce's neck, but stopped right when she was about to bite down. She then said with a smug look on her face, "Do you yield?"

Luce hesitated with a frown on his face, though it turned to a satisfied smile. With his eyes closed in a submissive manner, Luce acknowledged his defeat, "Yes, I yield to you. I will not move against your team anymore in this contest."

Lauren lifted herself off of Luce, then demanded with a somber look on her face, "Now tell me, is this witch that many despised in myths truly my mother?"

"Would that sadden you?" Replied Luce, he looked honestly interested in Lauren's reply.

"No... Honestly, it wouldn't make one difference if mother murdered hundreds or if she lived as a remote and peaceful hermit in the forests of Earth." Said Lauren grimly.

"I see, well as I promised... I can confirm that you are most assuredly the daughter of Mistress LeFay, not only does your magic have the same feeling... Even your tenacity surprised me at how alike it is with your mother. Practically the same." Luce sighed and looked up, "I now officially surrender to the Lord of Lust's side in this annoying competition. There, that should count towards the end result."

"You surrender? Why would you do that?" These words came from Nerissa as she and Aureal joined the witch and the Djinn in conversation.

"Well, since Mistress LeFay's wish is now completed, I see no need to continue with my travels. I only joined with Black Steps with this in mind as it is not very likely I would find Mistress LeFay's daughter if I intentionally looked for her. The realms are vast; my best bet to find Miss Lauren here is by complete chance. Also, I don't really want to die, and thus I surrender." Confessed Luce.

"How... Honest. Very well, then what will you be doing now? And after this farce of a contest?" Asked Lauren.

"That, I have yet to think about it really. It has been many years since I was asked to find you be Mistress LeFay, and all this time, I have been have doing the very things I would have done after finding you... Well, shit." Luce couldn't help but chuckle at the way he had been living up to this point. He saw no need to continue working for Black Steps, yet he really had no idea what he wanted to do. "I'm not sure really, I have no desire to return to my people in the Gardens of Greed, nor do I wish to return to my sacred vessel in the human world." He let out a wry smile.

"If I may interject..." Said Aureal monotonously, "If you have no idea what to do, please assist Master, the Lord of Lust. Your obviously powerful summoning skills would be a good boon in the near future."

Aureal's idea was so simple that it was genius, Lauren made that clear, "That's perfect! At least agree to help out Rainer for the time being, you can think of what to do with your life after his place as Lord is situated."

"Yes, there is no way there is not a war coming soon. This Arazra, he will not keep quiet for long. I doubt even mother would be able to assist my darling fiancée in time, your skills would be greatly appreciated." Nerissa added her own two bits to the conversation, agreeing with her two friends.

"That sounds perfect for my situation. As I do not wish to reunite with Black Steps, and that less than desirable Xizaen, I humbly offer my assistance to you three and the Lord of Lust for the time being. (I can't stand that odd scar of his...)" Luce bowed as he offered his assistance, righting himself after several seconds.

"This is all well and good, but as the ones we beat just now are apparently not the last three, we still have some enemies to slay. Let us make our way to the next group of opponents and kick some ass." Said Lauren in an upbeat manner, her mood had obviously improved. 'Fáfnir...' She then turned her attention to the still active telepathic communication between her and the ice dragon, Fáfnir. 'Thank you very much for your assistance in this fight... Eh?'

'You are quite welcome, as you may have noticed, I have already severed the link of the pact that sustains my presence here until the next time you find the need to fully summon me. Though at least let me sleep a good few years before that happens. Ever since I formed that pact with you... Well, I can see that you have grown into quite the fine young woman, young witch. Have fun with your little demon lord of yours.'

Lauren swiveled her head around in search of Fáfnir, and like he said, he was nowhere to be seen. Most likely he transported back to where he was before Lauren called upon him. Well, it would be quite rude to such an honorable being if Lauren continuously relied on Fáfnir.

"I wonder if mother is still alive?" Lauren wondered to herself.

-

"You... You are more powerful than you and that Anubite give off. I sense just normal power within you, yet I receive much more than that in battle. Is this native to the Jaguar Men?" Asked a certain blind swordsman, named Caetorum, as he engaged in combat with one of the Jaguar Men, one of the humanoids living in the Sands of Sloth.

The Jaguar Man, Yaotl, simple grunted and wildly swung around his reinforced wooden sword with obsidian edges at Caetorum. The complete random and wild attacks of the jaguar were unsuited for Caetorum's more gentle way of sword fighting. Instead of deflecting and manipulating the sword, which was what one did with a rapier, he had to dodge every single attack thrown at him. The momentum of the Aztec weapon was too great for the rapier to handle.

Because his opponent's weapon was too barbaric, Caetorum was forced to sheath his parrying blade. The parrying blade was designed more for the common sword or other light weaponry, as the hook on the bottom of the dagger-like weapon would assist in blocking and disarming. Both he and Yaotl were men of weapons, not magic, so they knew not to expect any annoying magic tricks.

Yaotl's more than supernatural strength and speed outclassed Caetorum in that regard, Caetorum believed he was magically enhanced, though he could not confirm it. It had to be that, as Caetorum has fought Jaguar Men on separate occasions. This magic was not of either Yaotl or Chigaru's origin. Caetorum was only staying alive so far thanks to his superior supernatural senses, which thanks to his blindness, were honed far more and effectively than just about anything that relied on eyesight, which was his main advantage over Yaotl.

Caetorum pondered the situation, his battle with Yaotl has been going on for quite sometime, he had only stayed alive this far thanks to his senses and stamina. He witnessed the death of three people on Tozomat's side, Veronica, Tozomat himself, and the Anubite named Chigaru. Caetorum was not one to feel sorrow, especially not during important moments like a battle, and the incubus forced his feelings deep into his mind, ready for another day. Tozomat's death will be dealt with soon, AFTER the matter with Yaotl was done with. And quickly, as the man Caetorum is supposed to protect is currently in a fight to the death with the one who killed Tozomat, Archibald. Still... Revenge will be sweet.

Caetorum sensed a blow from the wooden sword going for his head; he ducked and moved in to attack Yaotl, stabbing with his rapier. He inflicted a wound, but not a terribly deep one, as the rapier's momentum was not enough to puncture any internal organs. The Jaguar Man forced Caetorum away with one of his hands that had claws extended.

Yaotl slashed upwards at Caetorum, though it was once again missed. Their exchange of attacks continued for several more minutes. Caetorum dodged the majority of Yaotl's attacks with his wooden sword, though he gained a few menacing scratches thanks to the obsidian edge of the sword. And most of Caetorum's thrusts, stabs, and lunges were all blocked by the tough wooden sword, with only one managing to get through the guard and piercing the skin just above the waist.

It would have behooved Caetorum to bring a different type of sword to this fight, according to Caetorum himself. However, his rapier and parrying blade would always be his favorite weapon combo and rarely used anything but except in emergencies. The incubus saw on the ground, several meters away from the dead Veronica's body, the twin sabers she pulled out in the beginning of her fight with Tozomat. Those swords would be far better suited for fighting a heavy weapon like the Aztec wooden sword Yaotl wielded.

Putting a small plan into action, Caetorum kicked rocks and dust in Yaotl's direction, blinding him for hopefully a decent amount of time. It seemed to work as Yaotl recoiled backwards to evade the dust cloud. At that second, Caetorum leaped up and over a mound of bricks, aiming for the sabers.

Just a meter away from the sabers, Caetorum lunged at the ground, as he saw that the dust cloud didn't give him nearly as much time as he needed. Yaotl jumped higher, higher than Caetorum, over the dust cloud and bricks and raised his wooden sword over his head, ready to strike.

Caetorum grabbed the twin sabers and attempted to guard himself with the swords using a cross formation. Yaotl's strength was more than enough to break through the guard and land a blow on Caetorum. The blind incubus sensed the incoming blow and tried, while holding his guard, to move away, though he proved unsuccessful as the wooden sword partially hit his shoulder, completely dislocating the bones. Dislocation wasn't the only wound obviously, but it was currently the most pressing and painful to Caetorum at the moment.

Caetorum released a painful cry as the pain coursed through his body, unlike Little Rouge and the late Tozomat, Caetorum, like the majority of people, fully felt the pain. Caetorum coughed up some blood, which sprayed on Yaotl's face. Yaotl didn't even flinch and raised a free hand with its claws outstretched.

Caetorum realized the situation he was in. He was pinned to the ground by Yaotl's unnatural strength, a dislocated shoulder, and a hand with sharp claws ready for the kill, he was most likely about to die. Trying to say some words, Caetorum grinned and simply said, "I'm not usually this weak... I've barely got a chance to serve the young lord the previous one entrusted to me."

Yaotl, instead of claws, balled his furry hand into a fist and slammed it down onto Caetorum's head, knocking the incubus unconscious instead of killing him. Yaotl blinked twice, looking at this hand and why he didn't kill his opponent. It certainly wasn't out of mercy nor was it out of respect. Whatever, it did not matter to Yaotl; all that did matter was that another opponent was taken care of.

An opponent either had to be killed, unconscious for the duration of the contest, or have unconditionally surrendered. And once that happened, the winning team, and the ones that surrendered, would be transported back to where they came, simple as that. At least, that was what the Shah of Sloth told Yaotl.

The Jaguar Man looked towards the other ongoing battle that was between the supposed Lord of Lust and the Parish assassin, Archibald. After the death of the one named Veronica, Archibald went into a fit of rage and somehow overpowered Yaotl's comrade, Chigaru. That was no mean feat as both of them had undergone a certain spell that empowered the two. The spell called 'Body Overload' was one that greatly increased one's general combat abilities and body strength so as to surpass normal limits. Yet with that boost, like any other drug, it came with a heavy price, otherwise known as death. Both Chigaru and Yaotl were ordered to perform their best in this contest, or die trying, and the way to maximize their performance was to undergo an enhancement spell. Yaotl did not fear death, though he wished he did, but as he had now undergone 'Body Overload', it was an all or nothing situation, simple as that.

The Jaguar Man picked up his macuahuitl (the traditional Aztec wooden sword with obsidian blades embedded in it); he let it rest on his shoulder before silently walking towards the current battle.

-

"Huuuuuuh? Whozat? ♡" A less than normal cheery Little Rouge asked this to a certain person sitting beside her. The first thing she noticed when she woke up was that her arm was fully reattached to her body with no marred flesh in between. In fact, Little Rouge couldn't feel a single hint of pain (unfortunately for her) across her entire body, only an odd sense of euphoria. As for the person beside her, she couldn't recognize the person until she spoke, as she still felt a little groggy.

"My MY, Little Rouge... I know you love to accumulate just all sorts of injuries, but I've never seen you destroyed to this extent!" The voice, along with Little Rouge, held a strange sense of cheeriness, though with a more malevolent feeling to it.

Ah, it's Teras, rapture.

"I saw your handiwork out there, you did quite the number on that little angel girl!" Teras mused as she bounced around in her seat happily.

Little Rouge coughed several times before replying, "Yup-*cough*... Annoying little minx, crushed her heart, maimed her breasts, and IIIII slashed her throat tooooo pieces for good measure.♡" Little Rouge hummed as she recounted the apparently joyful adventure of her slaughtering the fallen angel, Elizabeth. "She's quite the active little angel, did quite aaaaa number ooooon me before IIIII got innnnn my chance! ♡"