The Eldritch Realms Pt. 04

Soon we reached Ophelia's village. "... there's a ward," I pointed out. A barrier, not unlike the ones in Tar Cavel or the Tower of Mist, stood with a peculiar sereneness.

"Er, yes," Ophelia said.

"A ward this strong to protect some random village? Something's wrong here, Robin," Nana warned me.

"No, wait! I can explain. Goddess Gaia erected this barrier for us."

"You had me at 'Gaia'. What is going on here?" I asked.

"Sorry... but Gaia--or her priestesses, should I say--forbid us from speaking about it. I have spoken too much," Ophelia said. She took hold of her daughter and passed through the pale greenish veil.

"Motherfucker!" Nana cursed. She extended her hand, trying to reach through the veil. A second later, she was on the ground screaming.

"Cassy!" I shouted. Cassy worked her healing magic and Nana calmed down. A black spot remained on Nana's hand.

"Necrosis," Cassy said. "Give me some more time. Shit, this curse isn't some run-of-the-mill magic!"

In a split second four shamans, masked with terrible animal masks and armed with wooden staves. I drew my blade. "We do not mean you harm, stranger," the eldest among them spoke. "We are the shamans of Gaia. Your companion attempted to breach Her wards. You must leave."

"Those two have to be the least grateful arseholes I have ever saved," Nana grumbled.

One of the shamans made a gasp. He looked at his comrades. "The Goddess... desires to speak with you. Please, follow us and enter the village. But your companions must wait outside."

"I just want to point out that this is a very suspicious trap," Nana remarked.

"In other situations perhaps," I said. "But if Gaia is behind this... I can't let this opportunity slip."

The shamans escorted me into the quaint little village. They hurried me to their chambers. In one of their damp, unbelievably simplistic rooms they sent me. The door they locked.

Before long, I could hear wind fluttering in my ears. A bright light burst forth, making me close my eyes. When I opened them again, I could only see a wide, seemingly endless plethora of trees and flowers. A being (human?) stood in the centre of it all.

"Robin."

"Are you Gaia?"

"Yes."

Gaia stepped down from her pedestal. She was absurdly tall; perhaps two and a half metres tall altogether. "Welcome to the Verdant Garden, my little space in the Eldritch Realm."

"You called me here," I said. "Why?"

"Easy, easy! We should start from the beginning," she said. "The most essential thing for you to know is that I'm on the side of anyone who fights Eris."

"I deduced as much. You did help the elves repel Eris' attack, after all."

"Correct. And I am defending the remnants of the old kingdoms here against her cultists," Gaia said. "Your High Lords have been making preparations for a war against her, and that's good, but they're misguided. They must be corrected, so that their efforts do not become futile."

"What do you mean by that?"

Gaia sighed. "I need to tell you from the start. This all began with the Divine War, a war between gods."

"I'm sorry, 'gods'? So gods are real?" I asked. The Church always had a strong presence in the continent and there were many smaller religions, but I had never believed in them or in their gods.

"Yes, but not in the sense that you may expect," Gaia explained. "Some gods are formed out of faith. Some from chaos, some from threats... I, for one, was 'born' in response to threats to nature. But most gods are former mortals--humans, elves, dwarves, vampires, you name it--who gain access to the Eldritch Realm."

"You're telling me anyone who enters the Eldritch Realm is a god? In that case, I am a god!"

"Yes, you are by this definition, albeit a minor one. In my era there were around two dozen major gods and a hundred or so minor ones."

"Then how strong is a major god?"

"Your teachers, Karl and Ivala, as well as Magna, have the power of a major god."

I gulped my spit. "Your fellows are worshipped all across the continent, and you're saying none of you are truly divine?"

"True."

"... if this gets out, there will be a massive societal problem."

"Also true, which is why I trust you won't leak this info outside of important circles."

"Okay, back to the important stuff. What is the Divine War?"

"See, Eris was a mortal mage who tempered with forbidden magic. One way or the other, she began killing the minor gods and absorbed their power. We gods didn't exactly maintain a good relation with each other, so nobody cared. By the time she began killing major gods and prompted the rest to unite and fight her, she was too powerful."

"You mean you lost the war against one person?"

"Shamefully, yes. Most of us were killed, a scarce few escaped initially but were hunted down. But me? No... I saw the war for the lost cause it was and built a hidden ward for myself."

"You sound very proud for someone who didn't even participate."

Gaia frowned. "Interestingly enough, in the end, two entities emerged and defeated and sealed Eris, at that time weakened from her battle without time to recover or absorb the strength of the fallen gods."

"Two entities?" If Eris had been so powerful, who could have stopped her?

"Yes. One is the Dragon King, an ancient deity who didn't care for the affairs of other gods--until Eris. The other is trickier; I believe she was a mortal who died, but her soul, instead of dissipating in the Eldritch Realm, persisted and gained great powers. I have been trying to locate these two and gather their aid, but I can't do that alone. That is what I need you to tell to your High Lords."

"I see," I said flatly. Wait--a mortal who died and obtained great power? Could she be Alya, the one Karl was searching for?

"Alas, our time draws near. I cannot allow a mortal to stay too long in the Verdant Garden, lest Eris may take notice," she said. I felt my body became light as a feather.

A burst of light shone forth and I was back in the room. The shamans escorted me out. When I exited the village, I saw a pale vampire waiting for me. "Caitlyn!" I gasped. "Why are you here?"

"When your companions contacted me and passed information about Gaia, I immediately teleported here. Now, tell me what she said."

I reiterated Gaia's information, prompting "ooh"s and gasps from everyone. "This is most disturbing," Caitlyn sighed. "But perhaps encouraging as well, to know we have allies. Alright, I'll pass the info to the High Lords."

"So, what do we do now?" Nana asked me.

"I've been thinking about it. I think it's best we raise an army of our own," I said.

Caitlyn's eyes flickered. "Now that's an interesting proposition if I ever hear one. Tell me your thoughts."

"Well, we're going to invade, right? The more men we have, the better. If I can raise a sizable enough army, I can disrupt Eris' forces."

"I have a better idea," Caitlyn smirked. "We'll be focusing on the Empire of Lasha. If you can handle the Duchy of Yeva, well, it'll help us a lot--most of the former's food come from the latter, after all. We can help supply weapons and foodstuffs if you do manage to raise an army."

"Taking over a whole duchy!" Eliza gasped.

"Finally, a serious task! I'm sick of escort missions anyway," Nana said, her blood clearly pumping. Cassy merely gave a meek smile.

"I can't promise anything, but I'll see what I can do," I said. "Let's go to the harpy tower. Perhaps Ismelda is willing to hand out intelligence."

Caitlyn left. The four of us went to the harpy tower; it took a full day--so we reached the tower at around one o'clock the next day--but no harm beset us. I went to meet Queen Ismelda alone. She invited me to her usual meeting room.

"Welcome, friend. What counsel do you seek?"

"I'm trying to build an army. Do you have any advice how?"

"Straight to the point, hm."

Ismelda closed her eyes, falling into deep thought. "Yes, that is possible. There are three leads I can offer you."

Yes! It took me great will to not shout out loud. I knew Ismelda could be relied on!

"First, there is a sizable community of incubi and succubi near Yeva. They're about six thousand strong and they're all mercenaries. Normally it would be borderline impossible to recruit them, but this particular community is very traditional."

"Traditional?"

"I mean that you can take over the community if you beat their current leader in a sex contest."

"There is such a thing?"

Queen Ismelda nodded a few times. "Second. There are remnants of warriors loyal to the old nobility. Many of them are in hiding and will be difficult to be effectively gathered, but a large force--perhaps three thousand--are holing up in Veya Islands to the east of the mainland. However, they won't help you unless you have a high chance of actually succeeding. They're careful like that."

"May be prudent to do that last, then."

"The third one... I debated myself whether to tell you. Do you know about Morgana?"

"The one who waged war against the entire world 500 years ago? Yeah."

"Good, that skips a lot of explanations. You humans have short memories and tend to think of her as a myth. There is a war vault of Morgana's. There she sealed away many things; supplies that would never spoil, weapons, war constructs thousands in number, powerful spells... the only problem is that I'm not sure if you can access it."

"What's the catch?"

"The vault itself seems to be multi leveled. Eris' cultists had plundered the first level, but there is an inviolable barrier guarding the deeper levels. But you are a half-demon, a creation of Eris, same as Morgana. Maybe you'll find a way."

"Haha, yes--wait. How did you--"

"You think I don't know you're a half-demon?" Queen Ismelda laughed. "Well, that's all I can tell you." She marked the aforementioned three locations on my map.

"Thank you very much," I said, excusing myself.

Once outside, we discussed Queen Ismelda's clues. It was agreed that we would first pay a visit to the succubi. Their hideout was to the southeast. Our journey was, once again, thankfully uneventful. I really didn't need more elves screwing over us.

The succubi lived in opulent, decorated caves--strikingly similar, if merely more lavish, with my own house. I had Nana, Eliza, and Cassy camp outside. I didn't bring my sword--gambling that it would make me look friendlier. The weather was damp. Grey clouds formed in the sky. I entered the largest cave.

The incubi and the succubi there, all scantily dressed, were playing cards and having sex. One of them immediately approached me. Her skin was slightly brown. Her face was unbelievably smug as she flaunted her silver hair with gold streaks. She had white, goat horns (just like all succubi) and a spade tail.

"What now... hey, you're not one of the usual humans!"

"No."

The other incubi and succubi stopped doing whatever they were doing and circled around me. "I'm Robin. You're mercenaries for Eris' nations, aren't you? They're my enemies and I want you to stop helping them."

"Hahaha!" the succubus laughed, followed by the others.

"Commander Agnes, is he serious?" one of the incubi said.

"Set money on the table... for a large enough sum, we'll turn," the succubi named Agnes said.

"Oh, I'm afraid I have no intention of doing that. I'm more interested in challenging your leader in a sexual contest."

All of the incubi and succubi roared in laughter. Agnes smirked at me. "You'll die, human, but I suppose it'll be a happy death." She signalled me to follow her. We arrived at some kind of great hall.

Agnes and I stripped. She had a beautiful and fit body, complemented by her large breasts--larger than even Cassy's--and her hairy but pinkish pussy. She had her tits and pussy pierced--the latter with no less than seven piercings. "Not bad... not bad at alll," she said. "But I'll have you know that each piercing in my body represents a defeated foe. You'll be the tenth!"

Like a wild beast, she pinned me down. She slammed her body down with a great force. My whole cock was inside her warm, unnaturally comfortable pussy. I felt as if small cilia had grown inside her pussy and tickled my cock. But I wasn't the only one gathering strength to win; Agnes was shook too, with her tongue out. Our bodies brimmed with powerful lust magic.

I seized her buttocks while pushing my cock ever deeper inside. Agnes' wild, uncontrolled bursts eventually began to calm down. We inflicted many lust spells against each other, but neither was able to gain an upper hand. "Give up!" Agnes barked. "You can't win against my pussy!" Her skin turned red and her demonic nature was in full view as her eyes, too, gleamed red. The audience gasped in delight.

I released my hands from her butt and pinched her nipples. "Ah!" Immediately I felt her control slip.

"So that's the kind of woman you are, huh?" I asked with a grin. I raised my hand and slapped her butt as hard as I could.

"Hey! Stop that!" Rather than stopping, I slapped her ass again and again. It didn't take long before she moaned and climaxed. Her body fell backwards.

I grabbed her hair and forced my cock down her throat. Her hands flapped like broken wings. "Heh. I love masochists like you. You are so easy to control."

Her humid throat and obedient licks were enough for me to cum. I pushed even deeper, forcing her to drink my sperm. When I released her, she was gasping for air. I didn't give her time to rest. I pushed her down with very little resistance.

"This isn't over! Our contest isn't over!" Agnes declared.

"Shut up, whore!" I shouted back as I penetrated her wet pussy with my cock. My hands slapped her humongous breasts a few times, making her squeal and cum.

"F-faster! Slap my tits again, Master!" she moaned, finally surrendering. The succubi and incubi now laughed and mocked her.

"Ha! Decided to be honest, at last, huh?" I pulled out from her pussy.

I opened her legs and spat at her anus before brutally breaking into her ass. "Ah! It hurts! But--but it also feels so good!" Her ass was so tight that I could only bury half my cock inside; otherwise I might genuinely hurt her. Agnes wagged her spade tail and used it to wrap the other half.

"Use me as an onahole, Master! Slap me more, show me my place!" Agnes begged even as her tits became red from all the slapping.

"Grah!" With a last groan, I dropped a fresh burst of sperm inside Agnes' gaping anus.

Agnes gathered her breath while her body spasmed on the floor. "You... win."

The succubi and incubi, still jeering at their fallen leader, applauded. A pair of incubi and a pair of succubi approached me. "Your orders, Commander Robin?"

"Continue to follow orders from Eris' lackeys. Do not allow them to notice anything strange--make them believe you are still loyal to them. Meanwhile, gather as much information about them as possible. I'll relay further orders on a later date."

"Understood."

"How many fighting force can you gather?"

"Six thousand, Commander." I nodded.

"M-Master!"

Agnes prostrated herself at my feet. The naked succubus was still stained by her own juices and my sperm still flowed out of her ass. "Master! Please allow me to accompany you!" she begged as I was about to leave.

"Why should I?"

"I can fight for you, Master. I have lust, fire, and metal magic. And I can service you with my body! Please, Master, allow this lowly slut to serve you as a slave!"

"Well, I've always wanted a masochistic cum dumpster for my harem," I mocked. I placed her feet on her head. "Lick my toes. Prove your devotion and submission."

Without so much as a second of hesitation or a word of objection, Agnes cleaned my toes with her mouth. "Alright, follow me. Don't forget your clothes."

The succubus gathered her possessions in a bag and followed me outside. My companions had set up camp. Nana smirked; Eliza grinned; Cassy being Cassy gave a small smile. In the large tent, after half an hour of chatting, I had Agnes strip. Her knees were lowered while her hand was behind her head.

"Woah, check out that bush!" Nana said. "How often do you shave?"

"T-twice a month. I'm supposed to shave tommorow."

"New orders, Agnes. Don't shave unless I tell you to."

"Y-yes, Master."

I collared her with a golden collar. "A collar made with gold for me? Thank you so much, Master!"

I made Agnes create a branding iron with her magic and lit it up in fire. Without mercy, I branded her left asscheek and arm. "Welcome to the harem, Agnes!" Eliza said enthusiastically.

"She must be a real good fuck, huh?" Nana teased.

"Gotta admit... I've never had a succubus woman in bed before," I said. "Tell me about your life, cumslut."

"Yes, Master! I had been in the succubi community since my childhood. I wrestled control from the former leader and defeated eight successive challengers before you turned me into your personal cum dumpster! We had always been mercenaries; Eris' cultists were just a client of ours."

"I see," I said. "Cassy, tell her the harem's rules."

"Wait, we have rules?" Nana asked.

"We just made it up a month ago," Eliza explained. "This was to prevent chaos between Cassy and I."

"First rule: members of the harem are not allowed to have sexual relationships with outsiders."

"With a cock like yours, only mad women would seek another," Nana whispered playfully.

"Second rule: sex is permitted only in the bedroom or the sex room. Third rule: members of the harem must not quarrel with each other over trivial matters. Fourth rule: members of the harem must do their non-sexual duties properly. Fifth rule: members of the harem must not seduce or distract Master while he works." Each rule was followed by Agnes' submissive nod.

Cassy smirked. "Sixth and final rule: Master may override these rules whenever he wishes."

"Understood, cumslut?" I asked.

"Understood, Master!"

"Here, come and sit with us."

"Aren't we going to have an orgy?" Cassy naughtily asked.

"I'm sorry, no," I said apologetically. "We're going to need strength to storm the vault tommorow."

We all slept comfortably that night with Agnes'--well, I suppose my--army of incubi and succubi around. The next morning, we went to plunder Morgana's vault; it took us four hours of travel to the east. The vault was not very well-hidden; its door, made of a strange, black metal (suspiciously similar to the material of my own blade!), stood imposingly near the beach.

We entered in our fully panoply of war; I carried my black blade and dragon skin armor, Eliza her pair of short swords; Nana had transformed her hands into claws and Agnes had activated her full powers with a blazing trident on her hand.

The first floor had been completely raided. There wasn't even a single copper coin inside. Another tall, imposing door made of black metal separated us from the second floor. I placed my hand on the door; I felt a strong eldritch energy coursing through it.

I channeled my own eldritch energy; within ten seconds or so, the door broke. "Fuck yeah! It sure is convenient having a half-demon around," Nana commented.

"Oh sure. It's not like there are two half-demons in existence right now."

"Shouldn't we seal this door back? If someone passes by and sees the door broken they might suspect something," Eliza said.

"Don't worry about that," Agnes said. "I've assigned some succubi to guard the road. If someone suspicious is near, they'll warn us."

The second floor of the vault still had some treasures in them. But those were merely several chests of copper coins, perhaps a dozen or so decent swords, and other miscellaneous items. Nowhere did I saw war constructs or supplies. Four lion statues; two stacked on two others were on the wall.

"Surely, there has to be something more!"

I found a wooden chest that was difficult to open. While I was tinkering with it, Agnes nudged me. "Master!"