Guilty x Creatures Ch. 57

Chapter 25 : Morning

Mica and the dark elves all stood in stunned silence as the purple sheet slipped away from Mokai and revealed him for what he truly was, a very large tsuchigumo.

With a humanoids upper body mounted atop the cephalothorax of a gigantic spider, a full grown tsuchigumo was, without question, an impressive sight. And even for those who were familiar with the species, to see one in the flesh was still striking.

Although he possessed what seemed to be the upper torso of a human, Mokai was still distinctly inhuman in appearance. His flesh in this portion of his body, wherever it could be seen around the thin bathrobe that he was wearing, or his chitinous carapace, was an ashen white in color and was hairless, save for what was found atop his head. Which, although this was technically hair, it was not human-like in the slightest, but was more akin to sharpened quills or very thin, tightly packed spines which, as they were all pointed backwards, gave his head an almost elongated appearance.

His face was human-like at first glance, and with sharp features, high cheek bones and a strong jaw, he could easily be considered handsome. A second look however would quickly reveal his arachnid qualities, such as the pair of chelicerae that were each kept folded up along his jawline. Like his head, these chelicera were covered in black-colored hair, and tucked away as they were, they could easily be mistaken for some form of stylized facial hair. Though subtle, these appendages were actually quite dangerous, as each was connected to a venom producing gland located deep in Mokai's chest, and was armed with a long venomous fang. A fang which was generally kept folded away from sight, but could be deployed at a moments notice to deliver a toxic, paralyzing bite.

In contrast to his chelicerae, Mokai's eyes were not quite so easily missed, and this was mostly due to the fact that there were so many of them. Similar in design and placement to a humans, his first set of eyes were complete with lids and eyebrows, though unlike a humans, they were deep black, opal-like orbs that were broken by a single thin, white ring that existed at the point where the pupils would be on a normal human eye. His second pair of eyes existed above the first at his temples. These eyes were much the same as the first set but had no eyelids, instead they were protected by a thin clear shell that kept them from drying out. A third and forth pair of eyes, identical to this second set, existed on the sides of his head just above his human-like ears, and at the back of his head, down near the nape of his neck. Working together, these four pairs of eyes allowed him to see in all directions at once.

Thick plates of black-colored chitin ran up his back and across his shoulders before encasing his arms and hands in living armor and leaving his fingers to end in sharpened, claw-like points. Thin creases existed between these plates, and this allowed his digits and joints to move as well as the large muscles beneath the plates to flex and bulge.

From here the similarities to a humanoid ended, as from the waist downwards, Mokai's body took on the shape of a massive, tarantula-like spider.

The large mass which had originally appeared to be a giant cushion that had been propped up behind him, was actually a part of his body. This somewhat bulbous form was his abdomen, and was where the majority of his body's organs were housed. Here could be found his digestive system, the large tube shaped heart that powered his circulatory system, his silk producing spinnerets and the large accordion-like book lungs that pulled air in from vents along his underside and kept his massive body oxygenated.

The surface of this abdomen was covered in a coat of long, soft hairs that were mainly colored a grayish black, and this was off set by a series of dull yellow-colored patterns that ran across the top of the abdomen, and were faintly reminiscent of a tigers stripes.

Though these portions of Mokai's body were certainly large, it was the eight long legs branching out from the base of his cephalothorax, which truly emphasized how big he really was.

When stretched to their max, and held straight below his body, Mokai's stilted legs could easily lift him a full twelve feet into the air. This was an uncomfortable stance for him to maintain though, so as such, he instead carried himself by bending his long legs at about the midway point and letting his body hang suspended in the air as he moved around. Though technically shorter when standing in this way, he still stood at a looming eight feet tall at this stance.

Due to his large size, it was generally necessary for him to keep at least four of his feet touching the ground at any given time so as to remain balanced upright. This didn't impede his speed in any way though, which was something that Mica was about to discover first hand.

"That's enough stretching..." rumbled Mokai as he eased himself down amongst his bent legs and focused several of his eyes on Mica "Alright then... Let's start by getting a better look at you."

Mesmerized by the sight of the massive spider-man that had suddenly appeared before her, Mica had no time to react and could only blink in surprise as with what seemed like a single motion, Mokai took a striding step forward and swung two of his outer most legs down to swing low beneath the edge of the porch and scoop her up off the ground.

"Wha! Hey!" cried the kiochi as she was lifted into the air and quickly passed from one set of legs to another. Despite her efforts to fight back, there was little Mica could do as Mokai snagged her attacking tail out of the air and fed it along from foot to foot behind her.

With a nonchalant expression on his face, Mokai expertly handled the squirming kiochi and maneuvered her in such a way that he could use his first two pair of legs to hold her spread eagle out in front of himself.

Balancing himself on his four back legs now, and apparently satisfied with the position he had her in as he held the struggling kiochi up in the air, Mokai used his left hand to take hold of the end of her tail, just before her barbs, and quickly looped a length of it around her neck before lifting his arm upwards and pulling it taunt.

Mica gasped and went stiff as her own tail was tightened around her neck to a point that she could just barely breathe around it.

"Hey! Don't choke her!" cried Kianna as she and Fiona both pointed their ears straight back in anger.

Before the two dark elves could do more than move to take a step forward, Anton raised a hand as a signal for them to stop.

"Girls! It's okay. This is just a test." he said as he kept his narrowed eyes on Mokai "...He's not going to hurt her."

"No, I'm not... I just want her to stay still for a moment, so I can get a good look at her..." mumbled Mokai as he focused his human-like eyes at the kiochi, and in particular the collar that she wore.

Their eyes aglow with a red, angry light, both Fiona and Kianna eased back but remained clearly ready to act at a seconds notice.

Seething with rage, Mica made an effort to remain still herself as Mokai leaned forward and gazed at the collar that hung around her neck.

Tapping at the collar with the tip of a single mana infused finger, Mokai slowly nodded and made a low mumbling sound in his throat as he found it to be both legitimate and fully functioning. Easing back a bit, he gave Mica a long look over before lightly letting up his grip on her limbs.

Feeling his hold on her loosen a bit, Mica immediately began to struggle anew and anticipating this, Mokai used her efforts to pull herself free of his limbs as a method to gauge her strength.

"...Let me go! You motherfucker!" growled Mica through her clenched teeth as she struggled to twist herself free of the tsuchigumo's ironclad grip.

Seemingly satisfied with his examination, Mokai silently lowered Mica to the ground before carefully letting her go.

Jumping back the moment she was free, Mica curled her tail back over her head and pointed her spade up at Mokai as she threateningly flexed out her barbs.

Though she couldn't see them come up behind her as she was keeping her eyes on the tsuchigumo, both Fiona and Kianna flanked the kiochi as they too joined her in glaring angrily up at the giant spider-man.

"...Well that was certainly dramatic." said Anton as he looked from Mica to Mokai "...So, what do you think?"

"She's about as strong as I expected her to be... And I can say I agree with you on that her reactions seem to be mostly instinctual, rather than practiced..." said Mokai as he stared at Mica's collar "And I can also say I'm surprised that she actually is enslaved. And that she really isn't part of any clan..."

"...And what makes you so sure of that all of sudden?" asked Anton as he raised an eyebrow in question.

"Because if she was, she'd be dead." said Mokai "You can't enslave a shinoccubus that has already activated their loyalty oath ability and joined a clan, as that ability will prevent most forms of binding curses from affecting them. This comes at a big cost though. You see, if a curse strong enough to overpower their oath is used on them, then a fail safe built into that ability will activate and cause their mana pool to literally explode, and the affected shinoccubi will die. Right then and there, with no chance of undeath. This is why you never see captured and enslaved shinoccubi. It's not something you can do without killing them."

Mica's face took on a sickly expression as she fought to keep from grimacing.

"...Huh, I have heard rumors that demons did have a way to instantly kill a shinoccubus that may be trying to attack them." mused Anton as he looked at back at Mica "So that must be how they do it..."

"Yep. They don't even bother with fighting them, they just try to bind them, and kill them that way." said Mokai as he watched Mica work to keep the nervousness out of her eyes "...Anton, how long ago was it that you enslaved Mica?"

"Just a few days ago." said Anton "Why do you ask?"

"Just curious..." mumbled Mokai "How much of her mind have you locked back?"

"None. I haven't locked her back at all." said Anton as he grinned at the kiochi "Aside from the base compulsions from the curse itself, she's at a completely natural state."

"Huh, okay..." nodded Mokai "So are you planning on forcing her to activate her oath? And making her fully loyal to you?"

"No." said Anton flatly "I don't even know for sure if I can make her do that or not. And I have no intention of trying to find out."

Mokai's head remained still as several of his eyes focused themselves on Anton.

"Why not?" he asked.

"...Well, to be honest with you." said Anton as he looked up at the towering tsuchigumo "I don't think she deserves that."

Mokai was still for a moment before he slowly nodded his head. Shifting his gaze to the dark elves who were poised and ready to defend the kiochi, he again went still and stared at them for another moment as a thoughtful expression formed across his face.

"It's pretty clear that you three seem to see something in this kiochi..." said Mokai in a soft tone as he raised himself up on his stilt-like legs and eased forward to loom over Mica "Makes me want to see what that is for myself..."

Crossing his arms over his chest, and seemingly ignoring the spade currently being pointed at his head, he grinned down at the scowling little demonoid before raising his eyebrows in a questioning manner.

"Mica." said Mokai as his grin grew into a knowing smile "Would you like to spar with me for a bit?"

Blinking in surprise, Mica's brow creased in confusion before her eyes went wide in understanding.

"Yes." she said bluntly "Yes, I would."

"Excellent." said Mokai as he rose back upright and waved one of his left legs in the air just over Mica's head.

Her attention locked on the unexpected movement, Mica instinctively ducked down and went to swipe at the offending leg with her spade but having apparently anticipated this, Mokai quickly snagged her tail out of the air with another leg from his opposite side.

"Crap! No, not again!" cried Mica as she tried to pull back on her captured tail but was instantly lifted up into the air and immediately grabbed by multiple legs at once.

Placing his hands on their shoulders, Anton began to chuckle as he startled the dark elves out of going into their dark modes.

"Alright, hold on there, you two." he said as they both turned their glares on him "This is actually a great opportunity for Mica. It's not everyday that a chance to spar with an expert trainer comes along. She could learn a lot from this."

"I appreciate the vote of confidence. I'll try to live up to your expectations." grinned Mokai as he shifted his attention to Anton and the dark elves while beneath him his legs wrapped the raging kiochi up with her own tail "I think it would be more comfortable for us to continue this inside though. So if everyone would please follow me, we can get started."

Hands still on their shoulders, Anton guided the dark elves up onto the porch as Mokai turned around and led the way to a set of large double doors.

Making their way inside the former hunting lodge turned dojo, the group was greeted with a comforting warmth that was a stark contrast from the chilled mountain air outside.

The buildings interior was made up of wooden paneled walls which stretched upwards to an at least fifteen foot ceiling. Thick wooden beams held up a series of wooden rafters that crisscrossed the ceiling above, which unlike the roof outside the building, this ceiling was not pitched, but was instead flat. Strange, six foot wide wooden pillars that were wrapped in nautical rope were dotted throughout the lodge, and these led up to large open holes in the ceiling which seemed to indicate that there was a second story that could only be reached by climbing said pillars.

Following Mokai deeper into the building, the group came to a wide open room that had obviously been built to spar and train in.

Like the rest of the lodge, this room had wooden walls as well, though these walls were decorated with various training weapons and had several large cabinets and armoires spaced out along their lengths.

A long rise of bleacher style seating took up one wall, and gave spectators and students a perfect view of any combatants and or instructors who may be utilizing the space before them.

As they had been making their way through the lodge, Kianna had been noticing faint, quick movements taking place in the shadows just along her peripherals. Though each time she looked in the direction they were coming from, nothing would ever be there.

Still annoyed by Mokai's treatment of Mica and now frustrated by this as well, she inadvertently let the glow in her eyes begin to deepen until she could fully see into the shadows. So when they all entered the training room, and she looked up towards the dimly lit ceiling she was immediately able to spy a diminutive figure hiding in the shadows among the rafters.

"Oh!" cried out the dark elf as she stopped in her tracks and pointed her ears straight upwards "She's so cute!"

"Hm?" mumbled Mokai as he looked back at her and then with everyone else followed her gaze "Oh, yes. My daughter. Isabella. Are you already awake, sweety?"

Moving so fast as to appear as nothing but a blur, the tiny figure darted from rafter to rafter as it traversed across the ceiling, slipped down a wooden beam and then disappeared beneath the bleacher seats.

"Oh no! Come back!" exclaimed Kianna as she raced over to the bleachers and peered into the gloom beneath them "...Where?...Oh! There you are!"

Lowering herself down onto her haunches, Kianna smiled brightly and clasped her hands together beneath her chin as she took in the sight before her.

Hiding herself in the shadows made by the seats above her, and peeking around a wooden strut that acted as part of the bleachers frame, was a teeny tiny little girl version of Mokai.

Standing no taller than two feet at her max and about a foot and a half with her legs bent, Isabella was in essence a micro copy of her Father in nearly every way. Save for her longer hair and the fact that the yellow coloration at her joints, and of the patterns across her abdomen, were far more vivid in their brightness.

Wearing a frilly purple pajama top on her human-like half and clutching a small stuffed teddy bear to her chest, made it pretty clear that this little spider-girl had just recently woken up and left her bed.

With her massive eyes all locked onto the smiling dark elf before her, Isabelle spread her fanged chelicerae out wide and began to sway from side to side as she lifted her front legs into the air and waved them about.

Failing to recognize the little girl's threat display for what it was, Kianna began to giggle and follow along with her by swaying from side to side herself.

"Aw! Are you dancing, sweety?" sang the dark elf as she held her arms up and began to dance to an unheard rhythm.

Blinking in confusion, Isabella went still for a second before suddenly scurrying up the bleachers frame and climbing out onto the very top of the bench seats, where she then planted herself above the dark elf and once again tried to appear as threatening as possible with her unintentionally adorable little show.

Still unfazed by the aggressive display, and now giggling at the sight of the standoffish little girl, Kianna sat down on one of the lower seats and smiled up to her.

"Hi there! You're Isabella, right? It's nice to meet you!" she said as she patted the open space on the bench next to her "My name is Kianna. Would you like to come and sit with me?"

Staying still for a moment, Isabella's eyes shifted from Kianna's face to the space she was patting and back before she suddenly darted to the end of the bleachers and then hopped down one bench after another until she was at the same level as Kianna.

Staring at the smiling dark elf for another second, the spider-girl moved a little closer before stopping and going still again.

"Oh... Are you being shy this morning?" asked Kianna as she continued to smile "That's okay, it's okay to be shy with new people after all."

Saying nothing, Isabella took a few more tentative steps forward before stopping again. She swayed back and forth a bit as she teetered on taking another step or darting back the way she had come. The claws on her little feet made faint scratching sounds as she gripped the edges of the wooden bench on both sides with all of her eight legs at once.

"Is that your Teddy Bear?" asked Kianna.

Looking down at her bear, Isabella clutched the stuffed animal to her chest and slowly nodded.

"Aw. Does he sleep with you at night?" questioned Kianna.

Again, Isabella remained silent as she merely nodded.

"Well that's nice of him, isn't it?" smiled Kianna "He's a very cute little bear. Would you like to show him to me?"

Isabella swayed back and forth a bit before looking back up at the dark elf. Without a word, she closed the distance between them and slowly held out her bear.

"Wow! Thank you!" said Kianna as she carefully took the offered teddy bear "Oh! He really is a cutie! I just love him!"

Gushing extravagantly, Kianna hugged the teddy bear to herself before giving him a playful kiss on the cheek.

"He's just the bestest Teddy Bear ever!" she exclaimed as she gave the bear another kiss "Right!?"

Turning her smile back on Isabella, Kianna found that the little girl's facial expression was still stoic but now her eyes seemed to be shining with obvious joy. Before Kianna could say anything more though, Isabella suddenly zipped off the bench and scurried across the room to one of the strange rope covered pillars.