Azra-El Series Arc 2 Ch. 02

He waited for a moment before entering her, again. This time, she distinctly felt her lips spread apart to accommodate the girth of his tip, and it felt addictively good. And he fed that addiction by repeating it over and over, before suddenly shoving the entire thing.

"Mmpmh!" she cried through his fingers.

With his free hand, he grabbed her under the knee and lifted her left leg up, before pushing it down with his hand against the back of her thigh, painfully stretching her muscle.

Using her leg as a spring he began to pump into her. Each time he pulled out and pushed in, her muscles stretched taut and contracted, and somehow the spiking pain added to the pleasure.

Even in the crescendo of the ever-growing pleasure, Liz gazed at his face, and tried to gauge his expressions, but his face was a dark emptiness. The shadows in his eyes seemed to have spread to shroud his features. She knew that they were past the point of talking, and she realized that she no longer cared about anything else. So, she simply let herself go.

Wrapping her free limbs tightly around him, she urged him to go faster, but he did not oblige. Instead, he increased the force of his thrusts, somehow slowing down before their thighs collided, so as to not make too much noise.

The slow but rhythmic thrusts sent vibrations across her body, and every bit of her tingled with excitement. Suddenly, something gave in inside her, and she shuddered. She felt the release that she had only heard of before.

Her head arched back, and her chest thrust up as she let out her orgasm.

He only gave her a few seconds to recover, before once again beginning to pump her. This time, he removed his hand from her lips and kissed her, muffling her groans with his lips.

She came two more times before she felt that one last mighty shove, which was followed by a deep rumbling groan that reverberated against her throat.

Some sort of essence flowed into her, and it lit her body on fire. It started deep inside her vagina and surged like a mighty wave into her head. She began to feel giddy and dizzy, and the energy began to fill her mind.

"This is our secret, demon," he said, before her consciousness gave in.

***

Liz woke up the next morning to find the branch next to her empty. She glanced down at herself and found her jacket partially covering her nudity. The dull throbbing in her groin was proof of what happened the previous night.

"Hello?" she called out, with equal proportions of dread and relief. "Me' lord?" she said a moment later.

The redhead came swinging through the leaves and landed on the branch next to her. "Me' lord?" he questioned.

One look into his eyes told her that this wasn't him. This one was a kid who messed with things he shouldn't, while the other was someone who shouldn't be messed with. And if his final words were a clue, she had to keep his existence a secret.

"Nothing. Must've been a dream," she said, searching his face for any trace of him. There was none, and it scared her.

Blaze looked at her as if she was weird, before turning around to go back to Nikolett, but Liz grabbed his arm and made him stop. He raised a brow, but she quickly stood up and whispered in his ear.

"I am an unnatural, too." The surprise she saw in his eyes was proof that this one was not the same as the one from the previous night.

oOo

Some twenty yonders to the south of Blaze's location, a group of three demons came upon the corpse of a saber-cat, sporting a narrow, cleanly pierced hole going from under its jaw to the top of its skull. Its six-hundred-pound body lay crumpled at the base of a tree as if it had fallen off from one of the branches. Its front-left-paw was missing, and its foreleg was a bleeding, cleanly-cut stub.

"Dintcha say saber-cats are incredibly hard to kill and best be avoided?" the younger-looking, green-haired ivka asked the other two visibly taken-aback demons.

An hour or so ago, the three had begun to hear the screeching roars of a saber-cat pack.

There were five known saber-cat packs on Edeina and judging by their location and the size of the cat, the demons deduced that this pack was a relatively juvenile and inexperienced one. However, the three had no desire to tussle with the creatures.

So, they climbed up a tall and defensible tree, and waited until the roars grew distant.

They waited a good half-hour before getting down and going searching in the saber-cats' trail, hoping to scavenge something from their prey.

Soon, they came upon the tracks of a lone hunter and a pack of 8-9 saber-cats. They were disappointed at first, since they assumed that the hunter would simply choose to fly away when things got tough, but the older and more experienced demon had a gut-feeling to follow the tracks a little longer. However, even she did not expect to come across a dead saber.

"Looks like we have a really strong hunter in this year's competition. She even has the audacity to collect the saber's paw, while still being pursued by the rest of the pack," said the black-haired demon, looking impressed.

"If I managed to kill a saber, I sure as Hela wouldn't leave my prize behind," said the green-hair. "Do ya think we can take her on, Zezili?"

"It's not as simple as that, Tirana. Saber-cats are vengeful lil buggers. They won't let up so easy, now that she's killed one of 'em. That's why sensible demons will steer clear of sabers. It's simply not worth it." Zezili shook her head.

"Should we just take a detour to the north and try to avoid the pack and the hunter?" the brunette among the three asked.

Zezili's sharp black-brows creased into a line as she weighed her options.

"No," she finally shook her head. "Think about it. The demon may be strong, but that makes her over-confident. If she gets greedy and keeps fighting, she will eventually tire out. If we ambush her when she's tired, it'd be child's play for the three of us to overpower her and strip her of da loot."

Thus, the three demons began tracking the saber-cat pack and their prey. At first, they moved with confidence, but as they kept coming across more and more corpses of saber-cats, they began to second-guess their decision.

Were they even chasing a regular ivka?

Whenever they came up on a dead saber-cat, they made sure to hide the carcass and cover the blood with dirt, so that other teams did not chance upon them. They wished to come back and skin the animals for furs that would fetch them a hefty price.

By mid-afternoon, the demons had found eight saber-cat carcasses. And just as the sun began to set, they heard the final forlorn roar of a lone saber. It was loud, sorrowful, and in pain as it drifted its way through the trees.

The demons threw each other a single look and rushed to the source. However, by the time they reached their destination, they found the 800-lb body of the final and alpha-saber lying in a pool of blood by the banks of a small stream. Its blood trickled down the rocky embankment and into the water, darkening it. The saber had blade wounds all over its body as if it had fought tooth and nail against its attacker, but unlike the other sabers, this cat's paw was still intact.

Zezili immediately grew suspicious and stopped the other two from taking any hasty actions. "Careful! She is still around!"

Tirana, the youngest of the three demons, pulled out her bow and knocked her arrow, getting behind the other two in short and controlled steps. The brunette demon used a shield and a sword, while Zezili readied her spear.

They waited ten minutes before deciding that the saber-hunter-ivka might've heard them approaching and left without collecting the final reward.

Zezili walked up to examine the corpse. "Oh pluck!" she suddenly cursed. The wound that killed the saber-cat was too clean, and there were no traces of blood leading away from the site.

She turned around just in time to notice the blur that fell on the youngest of them. Tirana was immediately knocked out by the pommel of a gladius-sword.

The attacker was quick to pick up the short-bow and arrow from the unconscious demon and point it at the black-hair. "Leave your spear and all your coins," she said, without much pomp.

Zezili analyzed the saber-cat hunter. She was a little short, but she seemed to be around her own age. She sported a few scrapes and cuts, but for what she had just accomplished, she seemed relatively wholesome.

"Do you think the two of us cannot take you out?" the brunette snarled.

"No. You cannot."

Zezili searched her face for any sign of weakness and found none. She was a beautiful blonde with her hair that was tied up in a practical top-knot. Her attire consisted of immaculately-tailored khaki short-pants and a khaki shirt, both of which seemed like they would be more appropriate for a leisurely stroll than a rumble in the jungle. However, despite her getup, the demon knew that she could not underestimate her in any way.

Zezili weighed her options for a moment before dropping her spear and tossing her coin to her. The brunette made a motion to give her short-sword and shield, but the ivka shook her head. "Just the coins from you."

"I am heading straight for the center. You better hope I don't run into you again. If I do, I shall assume that you are seeking revenge, and I will kill you," the ivka said. Her tone was calm and commanding.

Zezili nodded.

The blonde picked up her stuff, hacked off the saber's paw, rinsing the blood off from the spring, and put it in a dingy knapsack, before hopping over the stream.

"Oh, if you see anyone else wearing clothes similar to mine, tell him that I am looking for him," she said, glancing back.

Zezili nodded again and asked, "May we know your name?"

"No," came the reply, before she disappeared into the woods.

Thus began the rumors of "Edeina va Yavas Yuf Heks", which roughly translated to the Badass Blonde Witch of Edeina.

Blaze would also make a name for himself in Edeina. He was called "Neirvi Shva Rut Voyou", which roughly translated to the Little Red Singing Hoodlum.

oOo

"How can you be sure that we are heading the right way?" Blaze asked, upon Liz's unwavering journey through the forest.

"The mornin' breeze always blows towards the center. Ya just hafta make sure ya don't get lost when ya can't read the wind. Anyway, for now I ain't trying to go the right way. I am just trying to find some prey," she answered.

That morning, after filling their stomachs and flask with water from a nearby stream, the trio quickly set out into the forest.

"How big is Edeina?" Blaze asked. He walked in a leisurely manner, prodding at trees, picking up useless twigs, and crushing leaves to smell them.

"I was told it is about thirty yonders long," said Liz.

"Do you know what's at its end?" asked Blaze. The idea of a space that was isolated from the normal universe fascinated him. His hands itched to figure out a workable equation, though he had no idea of where to begin.

"There is no end."

"What do you mean?"

"Edeina is a mysterious place. If ya keep flying straight, ya will always return to the place where ya started, I was told."

"It's a sphere! But I saw no curvature when I flew up yesterday morning," Blaze said with wide eyes.

"You can fly!?" Liz asked, amazed.

"Why wouldn't I be able to fly?"

"Ugh, uhm... you just seem very young."

"She is twenty-eight," Nikolett answered for him.

"Really?! She seems more like eight, though twenty-eight is still pretty young to fly," she said.

Nikolett snorted but Blaze was a little ruffled by Liz's uncanny guess.

"Anyway, ya shouldn't try to fly unless it's absolutely necessary. It takes up too much energy and ya need to save as much as ya can!"

"Yeah, we realized that..."

"Mmhm... Anyway, I don't think Edeina is round. Why would it be round? Wouldn't you fall off if ya go to the bottom? I think it's magic!" Liz continued.

"No, no. It's a spatial dimension!" said Blaze, unable to contain his excitement. "It is probably warping space in a way that is not entirely intuitive. Very interesting... Do you know if any of the demon scientists have worked something out?"

"I dunno about science, but it must be the work of Goddess Rhea," Liz stated with utmost confidence.

Blaze shook his head at the uneducated demon and retreated into his own mind.

"You believe in Goddess Rhea?" Nikolett suddenly spoke.

"Ya don't?" Liz asked her back.

"She is an angelic Goddess. Why would a demon worship an angel?" asked Nikolett.

"Huh? Why would the Goddess who created the entire world be an angel or a demon? Aren't ya angels too arrogant?" Liz retorted.

For a moment, Nikolett was unable to respond to Liz's misunderstanding. "I did not mean it that way..." she finally said.

"What way did you mean?"

"Never mind," Nikolett shook her head, deciding it was too much of a pain to explain herself.

Liz did not care enough to press for a reply.

As the morning proceeded, they once again tried the previous day's tactic of luring unsuspecting demons, but it still proved fruitless. Apparently, the only reason they had been successful the first time was due to the two demons' complacency from it being the first morning of the tournament.

So, the three promptly gave up on their stealth and ambush approach and began seeking out head-on confrontations. By late afternoon, they managed to collect two coins from an easy demon-pair, before they faced their first real challenge.

They had been travelling through a particularly dank and dense part of the jungle when they reached a small hillock.

Liz contemplatively stood by the base of the hill, while a weary Blaze angrily swatted at the incessant extra-large gnats that had decided him to be a choice target to frustrate. "Whatcha waiting for. Let's hurry and get out of this goddess-forsaken place."

But before Liz could respond, Nikolett suddenly pushed down on his shoulder and stepped in front of him.

Clang

Blaze's eyes flicked towards the sound just in time to notice an arrow fall from a rippling, palm-sized film of translucent energy. Nikolett's energy was silver colored like her hair, but in the dimly lit jungle, it appeared grey.

"Get down!" she cried, and Blaze's muscles reacted on instinct.

He fell flat against the damp and muddy ground, just as an arrow whizzed over his head. Liz scrambled away from their position and sought shelter behind a tree.

Twang

Blaze rolled to the side and felt an arrow pass through his hair and sink into the ground where his head had been.

"Blaze, stay under my cover and try to figure out where they are and how many? I will protect you!" Nikolett yelled, readying her shield and putting herself between Blaze and the hillock. All three arrows had come from the hillock, albeit from different positions.

Blaze crouched low behind Nikolett and trained his eyes and ears on the hill, but nothing moved or made a sound. Even the forest seemed to have suddenly gone silent.

In that moment of respite, realization dawned on him and filled him with dread. He did not see the trajectory of the first arrow, but he was sure that the other two had been aimed for his head. If not for Nikolett, he would've died.

"Now," Blaze heard a small mutter from a dawn-redwood tree to the left. It had massive branches hanging close to the ground, and plenty of foliage.

Two arrows shot out, one from the top of the tree and another from the right of their position. Both were aimed at Blaze, but he did not move.

Nikolett blocked the arrow coming towards his chest with her energy shield, while using the metallic shield to swat away the arrow that had been aimed for his neck.

Fear quickly turned into anger, and anger sought retribution. Two archers, but that is not enough. Both are on trees, but one not as high up as the other. Blaze's mind began to race. If they had four, then two should've engaged us while the other two were shooting the arrows. The forest is too thick to swoop down on us from tree-top, so the melee attacker must be on the ground.

His eyes scanned the forest and spotted a suspicious pile of leaves, ten yards behind their position. The pile seemed innocuous enough, but to Blaze its presence looked deliberate.

"Fucking bitch! Cover me, Nike!" he yelled, jumping to his feet and charging at the leaves.

"Blaze!" Nikolett swore, readying herself and slowly backing towards Blaze, to allow her enough leeway to block both the arrows. She thanked their luck that the demons had positioned someone behind them and not on their flanks, which would've made it impossible for her to protect Blaze from the arrows.

Just as Blaze reached within a couple of yards of the pile, a figure burst forth from a dugout underneath the leaves, swinging her sword at his neck.

Blaze was ready and hangry despite the demon being a lefty. He ducked his head, digging his right foot into the ground, before shooting towards the demon's left and swinging his fist at her face.

He could see the demon's eyes widen in alarm even as his fist collided with her cheek.

However, the demon had a strong jaw, and she had her body reinforcement up despite not anticipating being punched in the jaw by an angry little twerp. She stumbled backwards and hastily brought up her shield, taking a defensive position. The strength behind the punch rattled her.

Blaze heard a couple of twangs from behind, but he placed his trust in Nikolett's ability to protect him. And protect him she did, despite the considerable drain in her energy resources.

The two demons in the trees quickly realized the problem they faced--they needed a better angle. A rustle of leaves later, a demon with dark green wings emerged over the canopy, with her bow trained on Blaze. However, before she could properly aim, she was shot at by the demon they had all forgotten about.

"Keep her occupied, Liz," Nikolett finally acknowledged her.

The demon still in the trees sent out a volley of arrows, while the demon in the air shot up to move out of Liz's reach.

Nikolett didn't say anything to Blaze, as she could not see what he was dealing with, but Blaze could judge the urgency.

He let out a loud bellow and stepped towards his demon. She sent a diagonal slash in the hopes of cutting him or keeping him at bay. Instead, he drew his whip out with a reverse grip, and held it taut against the strike. The blow hurt, but the sturdy whip managed to stop the sword from digging into his skin.

The demon leapt back as soon as she realized that her blow had been blocked, but Blaze dropped the whip and rushed inside her guard.

She raised her round-shield as his left fist came crashing into her ribs. Knuckles clanged against the metal, startling Liz who had been keeping an eye on the archer demon.

She turned her attention to the melee fight and could barely believe her eyes. A flat-chested little twerp, who hardly reached the demon's shoulders, was pushing the fully armed demon back with his bare fists.

Clang Clang Clang his fists rang against the shield, the force of his punches pushing back the much heavier demon and leaving soft dents in the shield.

Though his fists were nothing but a blur, Liz could not help but admire his form. His entire body was like a machine as every punch smoothly flowed into the next, while his muscles rippled and worked in perfect coordination.

Partially mesmerized, she raised her bow and pointed it at the brawling pair.

Soon, the demon was backed up against the tree trunk. She haphazardly swiped her sword over her shield, but like a boxer Blaze weaved his head between the strikes, all the while using the momentum to rain his fists on her shield. The skin on his knuckles cracked and began to leave marks over the metal, but that hardly bothered him at that moment.