The Adventurer Pt. 03

"Monica?" I added.

"Well, Master," Monica began, having regained her calm, "I said I had a business that went bankrupt. It was a silk business. I transported silk from eastern coastal provinces to inland provinces."

"Then one day, a shipment of silk was botched. I have no strong proof ... but I think Ronald did it. He was the one who bought the remnants of my business."

"Do you want to restart all over again?" I asked.

"What do you mean, Master?"

"Restart your silk business again."

Monica shook her head almost violently. "Too cutthroat, too many rivals, and the nobility demands perfection. I'm tired of that."

"Perhaps one day," she added. "But not in the silk business again."

Day after day, more troops entered Al-Jins. It was a strong force: infantry and cavalry backed by a force of wizards.

But nothing reassured me more than the mere presence of Alexis. Having seen her almost single-handedly wreck half a fleet, I was reasonably sure the demons were in for a bad time.

"You've got to be careful out there," she counselled Ariel and I (and Monica, though her advice to her was "stay out of the fight") one night. "Demon foot soldiers you two can fight. Beware of their elites-they often can use strong magic. If you meet a demon Lord, get the hell out of there and let me handle it."

A messenger pigeon flew in. There was a letter for Alexis. "In Elvish!" Ariel quipped.

"... this must have come from Erika to ensure nobody could read it," Alexis said. "Hmm."

"What does it say?"

"This is not good," Alexis said. "Looks like the Elven army is mobilizing and also that a number of demons are around, probably trying to take advantage of the situation. Erika wants me back in Easthaven to mop up the demons."

"What awful timing," I remarked.

"Yeah," Alexis said. "I'll leave, slap those demons real quick, and come back soon. Take care."

Alexis left in the middle of the night.

A fatal mistake.

Whilst Al-Jins was gathering an army, the demons were too. And now they came knocking on our doorstep as dawn broke.

Red-skinned, goat-horned demons marched many dozens abreast. These were the goathorns, which comprised most of demonkind. Avian harpies and leathery-winged succubi flew in the air, dimming the sunlight.

"... hoo boy, now this is what I call an absolutely awful timing," I muttered. Ariel and I had been posted on the right flank of the city's defences. "Let's hope Alexis gets back soon."

"Now that I think about it," Ariel said. "Isn't it quite strange that she just happens to be missing right when we are attacked?"

"What are you insinuating?" I asked point blank.

"Well, think of it, the Adventurer's Guild has many strong members. Surely the Guildmaster didn't need to call on her help just to mop up a few loose demons? I think that letter might be a fake to lure her out."

Lure Alexis out ... that surely was a possibility. But how much time could they buy with that? When Alexis returned, surely she could single-handedly turn the tide of the battle, no?

"Ariel."

"Yes?"

"Get to Easthaven as fast as you can and recall Alexis."

"Understood, Master."

Situationed on the flank, on the high ground if a makeshift tower, I could only watch the carnage that ensued. Al-Jins' forces were certainly competent, but they were too few, and the demons employed increasingly brutal magic. Streaks of flame and wind and sand colored the battlefield.

There was a few days' lull in fighting and I were shifted to the front. Dust and sand filled our eyes and noses. Fighting in the front line was brutal. My body grew exhausted very quickly as the line fought a hand-to-hand battle against the never-ending army of demons.

And then they retreated. A few hours of rest were afforded to us.

But they returned-and at its head a truly terrifying sight.

This red-skinned demonic woman was not very tall, but she had a stinger protruding from her back and red eyes that looked like they could kill. She wielded a large scythe and a massive sandstorm heralded her arrival.

She walked very calmly but her whole body language radiated an aura of insanity on par with Alexis'. Her stinger lunged forward. Instinct made me parry it-barely-with a slash of my sword.

"Oh, it is you."

Somehow, I knew it was demonic language-and I understood it.

"Are you ... Mepetra?"

"I sure am. And I bring news from our Queen," she said, scowling. "Join us or die, she said."

"I think I'd rather die, thank you very much."

"Good! Because I want to kill you!"

In a mist, she morphed into a gargantuan scorpion with a humanoid head and torso. Her claw gripped me, hoisting me up in the air bringing me face-to-face with her. I unleashed a barrage of flames that deflected off her carapace. "Weakling, you will fall. You and all the peoples of this annoying world," Mepetra boasted. "Your pest-like Guild will be crushed."

The grip got tighter. "And your slaves ... they will be mine."

"They're only loyal to me," I defied.

"Then I'll slaughter them!"

A bubbling rage and survival instinct exploded inside me. There was sealed power inside me and I could feel the seals breaking. My body was revolting-it refused to die. The grip got even tighter. I allowed the mysterious power to course through my entire body, concentrating in my eyes.

"Heh. This is more fun than I-"

"Heah!" From my eyes shot out two beams of grey light, punching through her abdomen.

"What!" Mepetra groaned in shock.

This power had bathed me. "Not so weak now, huh?" I taunted. I weaved the grey energy into many thousands of knives. Mepetra, still reeling from shock, couldn't defend herself.

The battle around us was still raging in a brutal stalemate. A bleeding Mepetra stood up. "Fine, I'll just kill you quickly!"

Mepetra expended all of her power into one gigantic spell. The skies turned blood red. The sand on the ground stirred. "Retreat! Retreat!" I heard the men say.

I constructed a barrier around myself, but there was no way I could take a direct hit like this. One shot-I had to tank this attack and strike back with just one spell.

A great tiger of sand and flame roared and charged at me. A searing pain spread through my body. I grimaced and then howled in pain.

As the dust settled, Mepetra's hideous form advanced on me, laughing. "Heah!" I screamed as I leaped onto my feet.

A massive beam of grey light blew forth from my burnt hands. With a pained cry, Mepetra's body was torn apart.

I shambled forward. I must have looked awful. The mysterious power was spent and my entire body felt feeble. Mepetra was still alive-her head and abdomen were all that was left.

"Wait," she said calmly.

"I won't spare your life," I said harshly, my blade on her neck.

"Of course not," she said. "But don't you want to know about your birth? Your race? Your power? ... don't you want to know about you?"

"... speak."

"Queen Lascrea created you," she said simply.

"Created?" I asked, aghast.

"Forged of demon flesh twisted to look human, conjoined with the flesh of various races. Blessed with powerful lust magic from our own mages and Lords, and divine magic from captured priests and knights, and various magics from Elven and Drow lore. Your body was enchanted to be strong. All that power ... sealed until your body can use it properly ... you are a weapon, boy. You were created ... to be our ultimate champion. Do you even know what power you used?"

I was silent. "A combination of divine magic and demonic magic ... opposite spectrums ... supposed to be impossible ... not even Queen Lascrea or that accursed Demonbane has ever managed to do it ... but you have ... an instinctive ability ...." Mepetra's breath drew shorter.

Mepetra laughed. "I die here, but my Queen Lascrea has succeded ... this world has resisted us for too long ... no longer ... our champion has been created."

"I will never join you!"

"A tiger cannot change its spots, boy ... you will join us eventually ... of this I'm sure."

And Mepetra died.

"Mepetra was a chatty one, wasn't she?"

A silver haired woman stood a few metres in front of me. She wore a crown and royal robes and bore a golden sword.

"Q-Queen Lascrea!" one of the nearby demons shuddered.

"Retreat," she said flatly, a command followed by the entire demon army.

My breath was heavy. My body was weak. "Was that true?" I found the strength to bark. "Was what Mepetra said true?"

"Join us. Obey me." The Queen's eyes shone gold.

"No!" I defied.

"Hmm. What a shame," she said. "You are a failed project. What a shame, I was so close to success. And your creation consumed so much resources, too. But it ends here."

The brilliant golden sword was raised. I opened my eyes in defiance as it rained down on my hapless being.

So it ends like this ....

And yet the blade was stopped.

"Fiuh, I'm not too late."

It was Alexis who spoke, her staff outstretched to halt the golden sword. "You!" Queen Lascrea lashed in anger. Alexis unleashed a great explosion, blowing her foe a few metres back.

"Master," Ariel whispered behind me, dragging me to relative safety.

"Get yourselves a seat for an ass-kicking," Alexis boasted before turning to face Queen Lascrea. "So, this is the brat on the throne now."

"Your reign as my people's bane ends here!"

Alexis laughed. "Where's your sword?" she taunted. "I know that blade. Goldlight. But where's the Queensblade, the traditional symbol of your throne?"

Queen Lascrea's face grew red with anger. "Oh, wait, here it is!" Alexis' staff turned into an extremely regal blade. "Here's the Queensblade!"

"Thief! The Staff of Change is not yours. Nor is the Queensblade!"

"Yep. Pried it from the hands of your dead predecessor," Alexis said. "She died begging for her life like a spineless worm."

Queen Lascrea hurled down a great sphere of fire upon Alexis, who casually stopped it with a black portal that absorbed the fire. A flurry of black thunder burst out from the latter's palms. Queen Lascrea barely dodged.

The Queen decided to retreat. "This one's not an idiot, at least," Alexis mocked.

The world grew dark around me. "Ariel," I mumbled. "I don't feel so good."

I woke up in the same hospital as before with a jolt of energy blasting through my veins. I saw Alexis, donning a strange mask, finishing an even stranger ritual. "Fiuh, that's harder than expected," she said.

"Master!" Monica and Ariel immediately hugged me.

"Oh dear ... how long did I pass out?"

"A week," Alexis said. "That's why we resort to this ritual."

"Thanks."

Alexis stared at me. "Lascrea told you something, didn't she?" she said. "I could've breached your mind, but I'd rather you tell us yourself."

I told them everything Mepetra said. "Hmm. That does check out," Alexis said.

"I don't know what to think anymore," I said.

"Why?" Alexis asked.

"I mean ... what am I exactly? I'm not a human, I'm not a demon, I'm a ...."

"An Adventurer," Alexis snapped.

"Yes, Master, who cares about what you are supposed to be? What matters is what you do now," Ariel claimed.

"Finally something smart out of her mouth," Alexis said, earning Ariel's glare.

"Ariel's right, Master," Monica said. "Nothing changes."

"I suppose you're right," I said after thinking. "But one more thing-Queen Lascrea said I was a 'failed project' after her eyes glowed, what did she mean?"

"Hmm, I wasn't close enough to analyze it fully, but I believe she implanted something in you to allow her to mind control you. But it failed, so you've become a very dangerous loose end in her eyes."

"I see," I said.

Alexis left the hospital. I had felt fresh again. "What time is it?" I asked.

"Midday, Master," Monica said. "Kalimah asked your presence as soon as you recover."

"Alone," Ariel growled, a hint of dislike evident in her tone.

"Alright then," I said mildly. "I'll go meet her."

As usual, I went to Kalimah's tower. Her aide invited me to lunch with Kalimah, which I accepted.

The chosen restaurant was a small one, secluded and unseen. But the inside was extremely lavish. The waiter, after making a somewhat amused face, directed me to the second floor.

Kalimah was waiting in a private room with a fancy dress. What took my attention, however, was a slave held in bondage on the table with a bottle of wine lodged up her ass. "Come, sit with me. I have been waiting."

A waiter-also a naked slave girl-brought us tea with milk taken from the bound slave's breasts. "This is a local delicacy," Kalimah said, pointing at a mountain of skewers of beef and lamb. She shoved a skewer inside the bound slave's vagina. I followed suit.

"Thank you for your service to the city," she said. "We appreciate it."

"Alexis helped too," I said. "Thankfully she was there when Queen Lascrea came."

"Certainly and she has been well rewarded for that. But you killed the scorpion demon before that and saved us," Kalimah said. "And for that, this. Al-Jins rewards its helpers well."

She handed me a small plaque made of iron and adorned with ruby and silver. "This is merely symbolic, of course. What it really is is an investment in our city."

"An investment?"

"Yes, we'll send you a cut of our profits and you'll receive special perks."

I smiled. "Thank you very much."

"And the other council members are asking to meet you, too. But that is for later."

I just realized that the bound slave was a fire mage and she used her magic to cook the meat inside her vagina. Quite a decadent meal. Kalimah and I continued to chat.

"So I heard even Council members are slaves."

"Indeed."

"Slaves of whom?"

"The Council."

"... this seems circular."

"Yes, we're only slaves in name. But we're slaves nonetheless and there's a good reason for that."

"That is?"

"Well, slaves are slaves. Properties of their owners. But even slaves are beings, and expect to be treated with some degree of decency. Around here, at that time, things were extremely brutal," Kalimah recounted. "At the end slaves rose up and formed this city, winning a war in the progress. Nowadays things are far more civilized, but this city still stands as a warning."

Kalimah's eyes flashed. "We slaves might be property, but even we can strike back."

"I see," I said. "But are the slaves here actual slaves or just in name in you?"

"Most of them are actual slaves. They're put in here by their masters to make money."

We talked for a short while. After a glass of wine, we bode each other farewell.

There were three other Council members that I had to meet. The first amongst them was Tara, commander of the guards. When Al-Jins was attacked, she was away gathering allies in the southwestern deserts and she had just returned.

Tara was a massive woman, easily around Ursa's size, which was extremely impressive considering she was a human. I could sense powerful magics coursing through her body—no wonder this city could hold its own. Her brown hair was short, her body was muscular, her skin tone was dark brown, and she was not too interested in long talks. We shared a drink together and she gave me a token. "Should you find yourself needing military aid, send this token to Al-Jins," she said coarsely, beating her chest. "I will help you. This I swear by my word. My boon, from one warrior to another."

And then she immediately led a cohort of camel cavalry to hunt down the demons. Council member Arka had been described by Kalimah as "antagonistic". Kalimah and Arka together held de facto ownership of around 80 percent of the city, but whilst Kalimah owned the higher-end brothels, Arka's properties were lower-end ones.

I met her in the city's slum, where she was overseeing a cheap gloryhole brothel. "So you come," she growled. She was a young woman in her mid twenties wearing a hooker's outfit. She was of average build.

She was sitting on a couch and drinking a mug of beer when I came and she offered me a drink. They may be different, but these Council members all sure loved alcohol. "So, you're probably expecting a reward."

She gazed at me with harsh eyes. "I do not trust you."

"That's very direct," I mused.

"It is. I do not like this. Kalimah thinks Al-Jins ought to have friends. But having friends means having enemies as well."

"But we're friends," I said. "Al-Jins and the Adventurer's Guild, I mean. And the demons are your enemies. It makes sense to make common cause against an enemy."

"Today you are a friend and the demons are enemies. Tomorrow it may be the other way round," Arka said. "When elephants fight, lesser animals must be careful not to be stomped underneath."

She stood up. "You're free to use my whores without charge." Arka left. It wasn't the most pleasant of meetings, but I could see her points.

The final member of the Council was the High Priestess of Vanaa, who ruled over the grand temple. When I entered the temple, the strong scent of flowers and incense overwhelmed my senses. Alexis, somehow, was beside me again. "How on earth could you appear like that?"

"Spatial magic," Alexis chuckled.

"Please leave your clothes and weapons behind," one of the priestesses said at the entrance. I glanced past her and saw a mass of naked people inside.

So Alexis and I stripped. Alexis took a long time, because after her clothes and her Staff of Change, she had to take off two daggers hidden in her clothes, another pair of throwing knives, and whatnot. Her body was petite, her vagina was trimmed well. She smirked at me. "You won't get another chance, so ogle all you want." We entered the temple.

Lines upon lines of priestesses praying. Lines upon lines of priestesses prostituting themselves. This was lust and sex made religion. "... well, this is pretty fancy," I said, noting the marble floor and the decorations of rare metals.

"For a brothel? Yes. This is probably around the level of a ducal palace."

The High Priestess was waiting in her chamber at the top of the pyramid temple. "I bid you welcome, my friends."

She was a somewhat short woman (certainly not Alexis level of short, but still pretty short). She wore a mask of white marble. Comparing it to a statue of Vanaa yielded undeniable similarity. "Well, hello," Alexis said.

"Goddess Vanaa would like to speak with you," the High Priestess said.

Alexis raised a brow. "The Goddess?"

The High Priestess suddenly danced around without rhytm, at times screaming unclearly. "Careful," Alexis muttered.

Powerful divine strength infused the High Priestess, her body glowing, her eyes shining. Alexis hurriedly weaved protections around us.

"Greetings. If you fight demons, we are on the same side."

Whatever spoke those words was not the High Priestess. "What are you?" Alexis asked.

"I am Goddess Vanaa."

"Am I supposed to believe that?" Alexis half-mocked.

"Yes." The being unleashed an aura of great power, but was quickly countered, and then slowly overwhelmed, by Alexis.

"You are very powerful," the being conceded. Both withdrew their auras.

A few seconds of very, very awkward silence followed. I coughed. "Well, whoever you are, why did you call us here?"

"Because I need your help," she said. "You have been fighting demons, but it is necessary for you to understand them."

"Go on," Alexis said.

"You see ... there are many dimensions. Many worlds. Demons come from another world—I think you know this already." Alexis nodded.

"All the worlds advanced along the same paths. But some are more advanced than others—the demons' among them. They have spent their years fighting one another, draining their own resources. They mastered the art of breaching other worlds. They conquered many worlds."

"How do you know this?" Alexis asked.

"Because I am a Mistspawn."

"A what now?" This was the first time I saw Alexis confused.