Arcana's Path Ch. 07

Finn shrugged, "Fine... What about advice? I suppose I can't just hide and wait for this whole thing to blow over?"

"Six or seven hundred years in a cave might work. But it is doubtful." A new voice chimed in, and a purple-eyed witch leaped down from the edge to walk up to him.

Hero took a step away from her, almost behind Finn.

He swallowed nervously, looking at her but not recognising her from anywhere. He wasn't a part of the magical community. He had not a clue what to expect from any of them.

She looked him up and down and then shook her head, "What is Rasputin playing at? The Son of Mres, and the Heir of the Demon Hunter. Children of war, the both of you. Well, well. He saw something coming that I have not. That's annoying."

Finn smiled weakly, "I am sorry, madame witch, but I don't know your name."

"Astraea Astria." She named herself as the only member of the old gods who still cared enough to become involved in human affairs. He wasn't being examined by a witch.

This was a true goddess.

Finn choked, with not a clue what he was supposed to do. Bow, or refer to her as a goddess or...?

"You are still in the process of receiving your inheritance, it seems. When I heard the choice, I had my concerns. Convinced Hero to guard you with a little threat." The goddess continued without seemingly noticing, or perhaps it was more accurate to say, caring, "You do seem uniquely well suited to receive Rasputin's magic. Perhaps he understood things better than I do. For now, little worm, it would be best if you simply try and live your life. Allow Hero to remove the threats as they appear. Eventually you will have Rasputin's knowledge, and it will guide your future."

"Th-thankyou. Goddess." He gave an awkward bow.

She waved a hand, dismissing them both.

Hero grabbed his shoulder, and he found himself back in his bedroom with his stomach rolling. Finn winced and found a trashcan to vomit into, before sighing and rubbing his temples, "God, I hate the Manturian Shuffle."

"You recognise it?"

Finn blinked, and scratched at his head, "I... Eh... Guess I do. I also seem to have a really crap opinion of the spell. I doubt I could cast it, and somehow still think that it's the laziest and most uncomfortable way to transport."

The djinn dropped into his chair, "Suits me to a tee, then. But, just out of interest, do you have a name of a better transport spell, then?"

"Uh... No. Like an idea, but I can't name it. Tip of my tongue."

Hero yawned, "It'll come to you. You're just getting Rasputin's magic, is all."

Finn looked at the lazing figure, "I'm way overdue at a job site. If you're planning on stalking me or whatever."

"Oh, gods damn it. Please tell me you're not going to take Astraea seriously, are you?" Hero complained, "I could snap my fingers and the whole thing would be built. Why the hell would you want to do that when you could... Walk on Mars? Fuck a man on the moon?"

"I need a little normal in my life." Finn replied and shook his head, "I walked away from the magic community, djinn. Why would you think I'd want to be in it, again?"

Hero cocked his head, "Didn't you leave because you have absolutely no skill whatsoever?"

"Ouch. Burn." Finn shook his head, "Nah. I still could have been part of things. Not everyone is a witch or a... Dragon tamer or whatever. There's always room for tradies. But apart from the quiet bars... Not interested in magic."

"You suuuuuuck." Hero rolled his eyes, somehow already playing a game on his laptop, "And I don't mean the good kind of sucking balls."

"Stop trying to hit on me, dude. You're terrible at it." Finn glared, and then went to get into his work clothes.

---

"M'lord." The servants intoned as he passed from the great hall into another random hallway of his house that was far too large for any single person to live inside.

He walked glumly, ignoring the usual pestering about the day and routine, agreeing to things silently as he headed towards his office and the true beginning of the day.

His ever-loyal butler picked up on his mood, of course. "Is there anything additional that you will be needing today, sir?"

"I have been asleep for a decade. A new phone, that doesn't invite hysterical laughter, would be appreciated." He said idly, thoughts turning to his date, "Some consultation on daily fashions as well."

The butler nodded, "Very good, sir."

"Any... Chance of seeing my father, in the near future?"

"I'm afraid not, sir." The butler replied sympathetically, "He is currently engaged with -"

"Fighting the forces of evil." Echo interrupted, the bitterness thick in his tone. He was grateful, on some level, for the sacrifice that his father was making for the entire magical community. However, it had never made for a pleasant family reunion, in the rare event that could occur.

He shook his head. He was in a mood, and he knew it. Watching the way his date had transformed when she heard the word had been hard. He saw her lose control, her eyes going blank as she was taken over by raw instinct.

It wasn't her fault she had run from him.

Still hurt that she had.

"Oh, there's a witch I owe something for drinks." He remembered, "Chelsea... Chelsea... Mc... Something. I'm afraid I don't recall. I'm sure you had someone watching me. Can you make the arrangements?"

"Already done, sir." The butler nodded, and guided him into the office before closing the other servants out, "I must... Warn you, sir. That any continued association with the people from that night is likely to cause you difficulties."

Echo chuckled, "Really? A bunch of horny girls? What, were they infected with succubi?"

The butler smiled tightly, "Chelsea McGibbon, sir, is the daughter and heir of Dyeus. The more provactive of the young ladies was Ardet-lili. Also known as Lilith, the vampire queen."

"Oh."

The man smiled stiffly, "You weren't to know, m'lord. But perhaps it would be better if your social engagements were made in a more... Formal... Arrangement. At least until you have refamiliarised yourself with the ever-turbulent waters of our little community."

"The neko was my cousin." Echo said stiffly, "You didn't feel the need to give me any warnings about her?"

"There are few men who can ever claim to resist the influence of a neko in heat, sir. Fewer who can say that they have done so whilst also under the influence of the Ardet-lili." The butler stated with more pomp than it made sense to.

Echo burst out laughing, "Resist? No. No, I did not."

"You had the wherewithall to attempt to bring her to sobriety, sir. That is resistance."

He glared, "Bloody hell. Exactly how much of my night did my guardians watch? Please tell me it wasn't filmed or recorded in any way. I'm not sure I could survive that particular embarassment. Or violation of privacy."

"The memories of the guards involved have been wiped, as is customary." The butler replied as if it were entirely normal to observe their master fornicate.

"Right. Glossing over that... Yeah. Glossing over." Echo shook his head, "Do you have warnings about Kina? I... I scared her. I want to say sorry, and make up for it, but I have no idea how to. Or if dropping the whole thing would be best. Especially after a week."

The butler frowned, looking at him with concern, "Sorry, sir. I was not aware that you had generated an attachment to this particular woman, and I have failed you. I only looked at her in a cursory manner, believing it to be nothing more than a brief dalliance."

"I'm not like my father." Echo shook his head, "Even following hibernation, I'm not one to senselessly indulge my baser needs. I seek... Connection. Having someone who actually understands being part divine to complain to, even as a friend, would be..."

The butler helped him as he floundered for words, "Extraordinarily freeing. I can comprehend the relevance, sir. I will endeavour to discover what I may, whilst remaining discreet."

"She has my name." Echo said sadly, "Might be best if I allow her to come to me. I'm not that hard to find. Well... Romantic failures aside... I should get to work. How has the company managed in my absence?"

"Nation-wide, we now train and support two thousand and thirty six active Emergency Response Teams, sir. There are around a further three hundred in training that have not entered the field. Around a hundred of the active teams are out of rotation at any point in time." The butler summed it up quickly.

"Fuck." Echo said in shock. Ten years ago, the entire organisation employed less than a hundred people.

"Quite, sir." The butler agreed, "For the most part, the increases in the number of teams is related to the spread of the service to various other cities. However, I am afraid that in the last twelve months, there has been a disturbing increase in demonic activity."

His face darkened, "An increase?"

"Several notable incidents, as well as a rise in minor events. We discovered a mundane housing a veritable legion of managuise within their form." The butler began to describe the event.

"Hold. Managuise always act alone." Echo glared, "Dual events can happen, technically... But... It's so rare. What do you mean by legion? A literal legion is at least a thousand."

"Three hundred or so, sir."

Echo choked, eyes wide, "Holy fucking... Well, unholy fucking shit. A mundane? How the hell did they not slit their throat?"

"They carried the group for what we suspect to be around seven years." The butler said with concern, "As I said, a significant event. Lord Rasputin was called upon, and we lost two men. Lady Arcana was involved, and is likely the reason things went as well as it did."

He nodded grimly, "You said multiple incidents?"

"A demon somehow managed to pierce the defences of Violet Waterhouse, a self-born divine daughter of Dawn. An astagroth. It did this to attack a mundane that was romantically involved with Lady Waterhouse." The butler continued, "Finally, Rasputin, my lord... Is dead."

Echo scratched his neck, "I suppose he'll have more details for us when he comes back."

"Rasputin has not returned to life. It appears that a managuise infected him, and he finally managed to succeed in joining the lands of the dead."

He felt a chill run down his spine.

"All these incidents... Are incredibly unusual. Involving individuals who are incredibly unusual. There is a hand behind this. A design." Echo had long forgotten his concern for the neko. Romance meant nothing in the face of something like this.

The butler nodded, "This is the primary reason that the choice was made to awaken you early from your slumber, m'lord. Lord Rasputin was an expert at hunting demonic entities, but lacking your father, you are the greatest hunter alive today."

"Show me the map of incidents. All the incidents." He said grimly.

---

Arcana leaned backwards into the rough rocks as the waterfall thundered down in front of them and Kitty reached into her bikini bottoms. She wasn't entirely sure why she'd bothered to put them on, considering she was now begging the biker to take them off, less than five minutes later.

As usual, Kitty ignored the begging. She kissed at Arcana's neck, as her deft fingers played with her clit. Leaning into her and pushing her firmly into the uneven rockface and nipping at her ear.

Kitty's bikini was as simple as they came. Black material tied and looped around silver hoops. Not that the biker needed to dress up, she came across as anything but plain, no matter what she wore.

Arcana breathlessly kissed her girlfriend's cheek, "No mercy."

"Never." Kitty smirked at her, before slipping a finger into her tight channel. As Arcana gasped, the woman looked around curiously at the cave behind the waterfall, "Ya were right. Ton o' bitchin' dragons come out, when ya around. Any of these any fun?"

She clenched her eyes, feeling the fast-paced hand inside her. "You... Expect me to... Think?"

Kitty laughed and kissed her lightly, "Nah. S'pect you'll cum. But always fun ta tease you... I love you, Arcana. For reals."

Arcana kissed her back, and then undid Kitty's top. She smiled as the bathers slipped from her shoulders, and reached up hesitantly. Kitty pushed her hands into the mounds, "Ya like these, don't ya?"

"I really do." Arcana whispered in embarassment.

Kitty leaned into her and nipped her neck, "So... Weddin'. Who'd ya invite? Marduk?"

"All dragons... Are jerks." Arcana gasped as Kitty flicked along her G-spot faster. "Um... Ar... Ardet-lili."

The biker grinned, "Think she could sing, after? Turn the reception inta an orgy as we slip out the back? I don't know if I wanna eat you in a limo 'n dress, or ride off on dragons. Both sound fun. What do you want?"

Arcana bit her lip and pushed down on Kitty's wrist, "Um... Mum might kill us. I... I'm kinda... Engaged? Not my choice!"

"The jerk." Kitty tried to go back to playing with her, and shrugged, "I already know it."

"There's a prophecy." Arcana tried to stop Kitty moving, "Name's you as the Bride or something. It's going to make a lot of people upset, and my mother isn't an exception."

Kitty rolled her eyes, "Arcana... I don't give a flyin' shit. Seriously. Ya mum thinks she's all scary 'n crap, but she already killed ya. Worst thing she can do, she already done. Ya don' have ta worry about me. I'm gonna react badly if I have to see the bitch, warning or no."

She took a deep breath, trying not to cry, "Our wedding could turn into a warzone."

"Cool." Kitty shrugged, "Apart from the sexy witch, who else would ya wanna invite?"

Arcana shook her head and kissed her nose, "God. Never change, Kitty. I love you, so much... Um... There's a handful of us. Got nicknamed the Doom Squad. Because we all ended up dying around the same time."

"They sound like fun." Kitty said, kneeling down and pulling at Arcana's legs so she could get her mouth between them easily. Her tongue went to town, and she was left struggling not to collapse as her girlfriend's head bobbed up and down.

She moaned weakly, scrabbling to stay upright. "Holy... Um... Vi is... Quiet. Motherly. I... I think you'll find her... Boring. She's a... Cousin. And a real... Witch. Oh god. Oh, that's good. Fuck, Kitty."

"Keep goin'."

Arcana screwed up her face in focus, "Um... Vi... Got hurt saving... Someone. Shit. She's... Got less time than... Me. Have to... Do the wedding... Oh, f-fuck! There! There! I'm going to...!"

Kitty eased off, preventing Arcana's orgasm with a frustrated groan. "Oh, you bitch. Damn it... Um... Have to do our wedding... Soon."

The biker laughed as she gave a little swirl of her tongue around Arcana's clit. "Rest o' the squad?"

Arcana swallowed her dry mouth, "Um... Kina and Chelsea. Uh... Kina... Her mum is the... God of monsters. So she's... Not quite... Human. Part cat. Don't make cat jokes."

"Kitty meets the kitty?" Her girlfriend giggled, "Ya world is wild."

Arcana rolled her eyes, trying to push Kitty into her firmer, "Um... Don't. Kina's a pissy bitch. She's... Fun. Drink even you... Under the table. But cat habits. Possessive, pissy, and... Fuck! Over the top."

"Sounds like a party. Chelsea?"

She squeezed her hands, wishing that Kitty would stop teasing and just let her cum. But it also did feel amazing to be at Kitty's mercy. Denied, over and over. Controlled by her hungry girlfriend, putty in her hands.

"Mm... Young, and... Dumb." Arcana shuddered, "Chel's cute. She's also... Heiress to Dyeus... Um... Zeus."

Kitty paused, looking up, "Ya were the heir to magic, right? That make her..."

"Goddess of gods." Arcana felt disappointed, "Um. Yeah. Chel's dying because she's mortal. Way too much power crammed into a cute little blonde... Kid. She's like a uni student age, sort of. Vi takes care of her. No getting her drunk. She could accidentally blow up the sun."

"Fuck me, sideways."

Arcana glared, "Not until I get to cum!"

Kitty giggled, "Sorry, babe. Mmm... I reckon I'll like ya friends. But... 'Nuff teasin'."

Arcana's eyes rolled back as Kitty finally did what she was so damn good at. The tongue ran up and down her, diving in and out of her slit hungrily. Kitty briefly sucking here and there, and nuzzling her nose into Arcana's clit.

Her thighs cramped as she finally was pushed up and over the edge, flushing an ugly red as she spilled onto her girlfriend's tongue.

"Fuck! Kitty!"

---

The changes to Akihabara in just ten years were astonishing to Echo. From fulfilling a niche part of culture, to an enormous trap designed to capture the attention and wallets of the tourists.

On some fronts, it was disappointing to see that the culture had changed so much. On the other hand, it was now more accessible than it had ever been, which created a new sense of freedom for those races that would usually need to hide.

Surprisingly few of the catgirl maids were actually nekos. It seemed that despite the stereotype, there weren't that many of the creatures in the city. At least as far as Echo could tell.

That or the bodyguards surrounding him in suits, appearing to flank a traditional business executive, had scared them into hiding. It certainly had an effect on the crowds. People politely moved aside long before he got to them.

Echo wasn't here for himself, or to see the the city.

Unfortunately, he was here to work. It didn't take him long to pick up a trail. He doubted it was the one he wanted, but it would be a source of information.

His tongue flicked the air, tasting the rancid scent of a demonic entity, and he held up his hand to stop. His head turned at an odd angle, looking into the small store selling what appeared to be nothing other than light novels or erotica.

The old man hidden inside the square room behind his wares wasn't the source of the stench. It wafted out in the air around him, behind, and through a door that seemed to open to the alley.

Echo resumed walking, seemingly just continuing onwards, but at the next crack between buildings, too small for most, he vanished. His guards kept walking, whilst he scampered across the wall easily and dropped behind.

He smiled slowly at the young woman, "Hold."

"Shit." The demonic possession swore and turned. It had fallen for the distraction, thinking he had moved on. It didn't know what he was, just knew that he smelled dangerous.

Echo shrugged, "Just a few questions, from one brother to another."

She glared at him stubbornly, "You don't smell right. Like demon, but not. What are you?"

"Closer to the King than you." He cut off that avenue of conversation, "I have been trapped for some time. Yet, even I know that the King is not the one ordering the mass gatherings. Who speaks to us?"

She giggled, "A servant of the King. How precious. The King is a prisoner of a demigod. Who would ever follow him, now? War is coming. War is here. We will reclaim the world, tool of the mundanes."

"Not a tool." He replied and rolled his neck, causing his glamour to crumble and fall away. His black scales drank in the darkness of the alleyway as his red eyes began to shine. The entire space seemed to shrink in as he came into full sight.

The possessed woman began to shake in terror, and the smell of urine filled his slitted nostrils. They held up their hands, "Oh, shit. Shitting, shit, shit, shit."

Echo's jaw pulled into a toothy smile, "Where are the lesser fools meeting?"

The girl shook her head, "They'll kill me. My family. My bloodline."

"What do you think I will do to you? Cuddle you like a teddy bear?" Echo snorted and began to uncurl his immense physical form, surrounding the creature in the alleyway.

"I'd rather die."

He sighed heavily, "If you choose that option."

Echo tried to relax as he recompressed into his more humanoid form, donning the glamour. He reached out a hand and caught the falling woman, picking her up gently and knocking on the door of the shop she had exited from.