Swordsman of the Rift

by Brandon Varnell

  “You are right, of course.” I nodded. “Do you know of any place we can hide?”

  “Maybe,” she said pensively as she bit her lip. “I have a… a secret place in here that only I know about. If we go there, we should be safe.”

  “Then please lead the way,” I said. “I will follow you.”

  “Okay,” she replied softly.

  I could tell she was reluctant to let me know about her secret hiding space, but we both knew that all three of us were now in this together. She knew she couldn’t hold any secrets from me or Michelle now. Our very lives were intertwined. We would live or die as one.

  Adina led me out of the now empty room.

  Chapter 6

  I wish I knew where we were going, but Adina refused to reveal anything as we raced up stairs, through halls, and ever onward toward whatever destination awaited us. As we ran, I noticed how Adina’s strength had increased. Several imps and even one or two succubi had located us during our journey, but she took care of them with a quick slice of her claws. Did that mean her level had increased to the point where even other succubi were no match for her?

  “We’re… we’re almost there,” Adina called to me over her shoulder, her voice a little breathless.

  “Good,” I grunted. “I’m not sure how much longer I can keep running like this.”

  Without trying to be too egotistical, I would admit that I was in pretty good physical shape… well, this wasn’t my real body, so maybe my own level of physical fitness didn’t matter? I didn’t know. However, even if my real fitness level was no longer applicable, this body was at level 52.

  That said, carrying Michelle’s dead weight was beginning to wear me out. Of course, that wasn’t the only problem. The bigger issue was Michelle herself.

  Her chest pressed against my back as I ran, and I realized somewhat belatedly that she wasn’t wearing a bra. Maybe they didn’t have bras in Heaven. Or maybe she hadn’t been wearing one when she was kicked out during the rebellion. Either way, it was distracting. I couldn’t quite feel her nipples on my back because I was wearing armor, but I could at least tell from how they squished against me that they were spilling out. There was also her soft thighs, currently clutched in my hand, which made thinking difficult. It didn’t help that running through this drab dungeon with an aesthetic that was straight out of Dungeons and Dragons was monotonous.

  “There!” Adina pointed toward a seemingly plain wall. “This is my hideout!”

  “The wall?”

  “No! Behind the wall!”

  I blame my slower ability to process information on my distracted state, but at least I eventually understood what she meant. Once we reached the wall, she felt around for a moment, then pushed. The wall swung inward.

  “Quickly! Get in!” Adina shouted.

  I didn’t hesitate, rushing in immediately after she told me to and letting Adina close the wall behind us. We stood there for a moment, gathering our breath, which came out in ragged gasps. I wanted to wipe the sweat from my forehead, but once again, Michelle was in my arms and I could only let it run down my face.

  “We should… should be safe here… for now, at least,” Adina said, sucking in several deep lungfuls of air before smiling at me. “Come on. My secret hideout is just over here.”

  I stared after the woman as she began walking down a dimly lit hall in shock. I guess even succubi have secret hideouts. Heh. It reminded me of when I was a kid building secret bases in the forests of Nevada.

  Walking after the girl, I tried to peer through the dim lighting but couldn’t. I actually wondered where the light was coming from for a moment. That was when I noticed the end of the tunnel. We emerged from the tunnel, which immediately spread out into a wide cylindrical room lit up by several lamps that seemed to contain floating glow balls. I didn’t know what they were. Fireflies maybe? Did this place have fireflies?

  The room didn’t contain much, just a single bed and an old chest that was open, revealing some unusual knicknacks. Adina walked over to the bed and turned to me.

  “Set Michelle down on the bed,” Adina said. “I need to see how injured she is.”

  “Okay.”

  I went over to the bed and leaned down, letting Michelle fall off my back and hit the bed with a thump. Turning, I lifted her legs, clad only in sandals. Her feet swung as I shifted her so she was lying lengthwise across the bed. Her wings got in the way a bit, and they were so long the edges hung off the edge of the bed, but we did our best to ignore them. Once she was lying on the stiff mattress, I traded places with Adina, who knelt before the woman and looked her over.

  “She’s not injured too terribly… at least, her physical injuries aren’t bad,” Adina said at last, biting her lower lip. “The bigger problem is her mental state. While the Geass is no longer present, the pain she went through while it was active has caused her to enter a state similar to Mind Down.”

  “That’s what happens when you run out of Mana, right?” I asked.

  “Yes.”

  “Is there anything we can do? Or do we just wait for her to wake up naturally? How long would that take?”

  Adina thought about my questions for a moment, head tilting. After another moment, she sighed, shrugged, and then said, “It will take at least a day before she wakes up naturally.”

  “We need to rest anyway, so I guess we can just let her sleep it off,” I said at last. “Given that we’re outnumbered and in enemy territory, we’ll want to be as well-rested as we can.”

  I paused as a thought occurred to me. Though I called this place enemy territory, there was no guarantee Adina saw things the same way. My only clue that she might not get along with her fellow succubus was because she had agreed to help me and Michelle escape. However, now that she had killed the woman she detested, maybe she no longer felt it was necessary to team up with us?

  As if she could sense my thoughts, Adina smiled. “You do not need to worry about me betraying you. I have no love for any of the traitors in this world. Each and every one of them should burn in the Ninth Circle of Hell, where a special place is reserved for those who betray their own kin.”

  “Sounds like something bad happened to you,” I said at last. “I know we kinda just met, but do you want to talk about it?”

  Adina stood up and wandered over to the chest. She sorted through the various objects, and I saw everything from dildos to yoyos inside. It was quite the assortment of odds and ends. I didn’t know anyone who would have such childish objects next to adult toys, but I also wasn’t a succubus. After another moment, she removed something, a picture frame, and presented it to me.

  “This is me and my mom,” she said.

  I took the picture frame from her hands, holding it up so I could study it. On the frame was a young girl who looked essentially human and an older woman with vibrant green skin, glowing golden eyes, and fiery red hair. She had horns, wings, and a tail like all the others. The end of her tail looked like a crown. However, it wasn’t the tail that caught my attention but the color of her skin interested me. She looked like…

  “A Christmas display,” I mumbled with an amused smile.

  “Excuse me?” Adina asked.

  “Nothing.”

  I looked at the picture again. This woman was incredibly beautiful, perhaps even more so than Adina. The large swells of her breasts were barely covered by a type of armor that a pair of hands delicately cupping her tits. I really had to wonder about the aesthetic of these succubus. Hadn’t that other one we had fought been wearing something similar? She also had the same thong scheme protecting her lower half that Adina had, except hers was so thin I could see her pussy lips. It was like the thong had become wedged in her crotch. Erotic, but completely impractical. Was there even a point to wearing them anymore, or was making everything about her look so damn sexy the whole point?

  “I’m guessing something happened to your mom?” I asked, handing the picture frame back.

  Adina took the frame and hugg
ed it to her chest, a surprisingly childish gesture, but then, this woman had yoyos in her treasure chest, so the gesture fit. That said, it was still odd. She hugged the frame so tightly her breasts squished against it. I would have wondered if she was doing this on purpose, but she wasn’t even paying attention to me as she stared off into space.

  “My mother’s name is Lilith,” Adina said at last. “She is… she was the Queen of the Succubus. She ruled over all succubi in hell, and we obeyed her without question. When the change hit, many of our kind wanted to invade the Rift Plains and travel to the human world. They said it was our right to rule over the humans.”

  I nodded as I moved over and sat down next to her. The stone floor was hard, but I didn’t mind that so much. I leaned my back against the wall and glanced at her.

  “I’m guessing she didn’t agree?”

  Adina nodded. “My mother said we should not interfere in the world of humans, that doing so would cause chaos and break the balance of the worlds. She said it was better for us to remain here and continue with our work. In fact, she would often tell me it was more important now than ever before that we succubi work hard to maintain the balance.”

  Curling her knees into her chest, Adina wrapped her arms around her legs and put her chin on top of her knees. Her eyes were distant. It was like she was staring through the stone walls of this tiny room, looking at something far beyond this small space.

  “The one you and your group fought… her name is Naamah,” Adina said. “She was my mother’s second in command, but she grew to resent Mother’s idealism and eventually led a rebellion against her. They couldn’t kill my mother. She’s far more powerful than any of them, but she and the two other generals who served under my mother managed to combine their powers to seal her away with the help of their new master, Asmodeus. Even now, mother is trapped in the Second Circle of Hell.”

  Since I wasn’t religious, I didn’t know a whole lot about Hell. However, I remembered reading Dante’s Inferno once. According to that book, admittedly fiction, the Second Circle of Hell was the circle of lust. When he and Virgil visited the second circle, they were overcome with lust, punished by being blown violently back and forth by strong winds that symbolized the restlessness of a person who was led by the desire for fleshly pleasures.

  I had no idea if the Second Circle of Hell was anything like that. It was just a book. For all I knew, it could be a hot spring of boiling lava filled with succubi who would tempt you to join them so you would be burned alive.

  After Adina finished speaking, she looked at me with expectation in her eyes, but I wasn’t sure what to tell her. A hero in one of the stories I used to read when I was young would have probably said everything would be okay, that he would help rescue her mother. The problem was that I was not a hero. I was just an ex-soldier who had arrived in this crazy world because someone hired me for a job.

  “Well… now that Maliperum is dead, I’m sure you’ll figure something out,” I said at last. “If nothing else, you and I need to kill Naamah so we can escape from this place.”

  “I guess.” Adina smiled, but it was hollow, like she knew I wasn’t sure how to respond to her words.

  I tried to ignore the small pit of guilt in my stomach. “Speaking of, where is this place, exactly?”

  “This is the First Circle of Hell,” Adina said. “Um… I think you humans call it Limbo.”

  I nodded.

  “You know… I never got your name,” Adina suddenly said.

  “I suppose you haven’t.” I chuckled. “It’s Bryan Jenson. Nice to meet you.”

  A surprised look appeared on Adina’s face when I held out my hand, but she reached out her hand after another moment and gripped mine. Her skin was soft and seemed delicate. I know it sounded cliché, but her skin really did feel like it was softer than silk. It was enough to make me forget how she’d sliced several throats open with her nails on the way here.

  “Adina. Nice to meet you too,” she introduced herself with a smile.

  I woke up to someone’s hand on my shoulder, shaking me awake. I wanted to swat the hand away. I actually think I tried, but then a voice spoke up.

  “Bryan. Bryan.”

  Opening my eyes, I blinked several times, trying to come to terms with the fact that I was still tired and had a massive headache. I think all that running and fighting the other day had left me exhausted. Frowning as I pushed past the obnoxious blaring in my head, I looked at whoever was shaking me.

  I found myself staring into soft green eyes.

  “Michelle?” I asked with a yawn. “You’re awake?”

  “Obviously, you can see from the fact that I am in front of you that I am indeed awake.” Michelle’s smile softened the sarcasm in her words. “I’m feeling much better now than when I was under a Geass. I have you to thank for that.” She paused, then glanced to my left. “And her.”

  I didn’t know what she meant at first, but then I felt a weight on my shoulder and looked over to find Adina resting her head on me. With her eyes closed, I could see her long and very thick eyelashes. Her lips were parted. Soft whistling noises escaped her mouth. She was awfully cute for a creature that was supposed to epitomize seduction.

  “I had no idea you two had gotten so close,” Michelle said with a frown.

  “I don’t think we have,” Bryan admitted, resisting the urge to shrug. “Jealous?”

  Michelle scoffed. “Do not be ridiculous. I barely know either of you. Why would I be jealous?”

  “I don’t know, but I was just kidding.” As I spoke, Michelle sat down beside me. I noticed that despite her words, she was sitting close enough that our thighs were touching. Not jealous indeed. “In either event, I’m glad you’re up. Once Adina wakes up, we should plan out what to do next.”

  “You’re right, of course,” Michelle agreed. “But before that, could you update me on what happened… as well as where we are?”

  Seeing no problem with this, I explained what happened to Michelle after she had been knocked unconscious. I told her about Maliperum’s death, our journey through this dungeon, and how Adina lead me to her secret hideout, the place where we were staying now. The angel listened to all this in silence. When I finished, she sighed moodily and stretched out her legs.

  “I guess I really do owe that succubus my life,” she said with a gentle grimace. “That does seem a little distasteful, but I guess she’s not a bad girl.” A small smile lit up her face, lips curling delicately to form a beautiful bow shape. “It’s almost funny. Not too long ago, I was charged with being the angel who would lead Heaven’s armies into battle against the demons. Now I’m currently relying on one of the very demons I would have slain had we angels not gained awareness. It seems fate has a sense of humor.”

  “I’m surprised you believe in fate,” I said.

  “Do you know what fate is?” Michelle asked. When I shook my head, she smiled before her eyes turned glazed, like she was looking at something in the distance. “Fate and destiny are nothing more than the course life takes. It is not predetermined like so many people believe. It is determined by what you do in life. Your fate, your destiny, is shaped according to a combination of conditions predetermined from the moment you are born, which cannot be changed, and other factors that you are able to change through your own effort.”

  Michelle glanced at me, then glanced at Adina, still sleeping peacefully on my shoulder… which was actually growing numb. I hoped she would wake up soon.

  “And you think fate has a sense of humor?” I asked.

  “Doesn’t it?” Michelle laughed. It sounded like the tinkling of windchimes. “I’ve lived my entire life doing God’s bidding. Even after gaining awareness, I faithfully performed my duties… and now I’m in the First Circle of Hell, teaming up with a human and a succubus—my sword enemy. Is that not humorous?”

  “Yeah. Yeah… I guess it is,” I said with a smile.

  Michelle and I shared a chuckle before our laughter was stifled by
Adina releasing a soft groan. The young succubus raised her head and looked around, blinking several times before her eyes locked onto me. She gave me a sleepy smile that was honestly more seductive than Marliperum’s intentionally sexualized smiles. I think that meant I had a thing for women who possessed a more natural look and didn’t try so hard to be sexy.

  “Good morning,” she said.

  “Good morning yourself.” I smiled. “Sleep well?”

  “Uh huh. You make a good pillow.” Adina nodded before she spotted Michelle sitting on my other side. Her glowing blue eyes lit up. “Michelle, how are you feeling?”

  “I am okay,” Michelle admitted with a smile. “Thanks to you. You and Bryan saved me.”

  “Eh heh.” Adina released something of a bashful giggle as she rubbed the back of her head. “It was nothing. I’m glad you are feeling better now.”

  While the two girls shared an odd smile, I placed a hand to my mouth and cleared my throat.

  “Now that we’re all awake, I think we should figure out what our next course of action should be,” I said, and both Adina and Michelle straightened and paid closer attention. “We already know our primary goal right now. We need to defeat Naamah. That was my original objective to begin with, and I’m sure you two also need to defeat her in order to leave this place. However, Naamah is really strong. I came here with a group of five. All of us were at level 50, but we were still defeated despite this.”

  “Human levels are generally weaker than the levels of angels and demons,” Michelle informed me. “I think a level 50 succubus has the same strength as a level 60 human. I don’t know what level Naamah is at, but we can assume she’s at least around that—”

  “Naamah is at level 70,” Adina interrupted, then tilted her head. “Well, she was at level 70 when she worked under my mom. I don’t think she’s gained many levels since then. Gaining levels gets harder the higher your level is. That’s why no one could defeat my mom, who was a level 90 Succubus Queen.”