by Reed James
Another quarter of the way down. It ground louder. I growled and threw myself forward. My armor clattered as I hit the stone floor. I scrambled into the gap, the foot-thick slab of granite rumbling down to crush me. I hauled myself forward. The descending barrier hit my backplate: metal groaned, about to fail.
Shield of Faith engulfed me in a protective bubble. The barrier rumbled in protest as the divine protection kept me alive. I hauled myself through the last few feet, Twist shouting my name. I pulled my legs clear and then the slab slammed shut behind me with a final boom.
“Marcus,” Iris said. She buzzed around me, her pink light illuminating the narrow tunnel. “You don't even have any healing items.”
“Nope,” I said and drew my ax. “Let's find this cock-sucker. I'm going to get some damned answers.”
Chapter Twenty-Eight: Info Dump
Maria Du Marne
She stared down at the gem. “This is it.”
Dëshoma broke the kiss with Kulri. “What is?”
“The Tear of Ethileri,” Maria croaked. The flickering energy from it had died revealing a blue teardrop of sapphire as long as Maria's forearm. “This is what I need to heal my village.”
She scooped it up in her hands, cradling it. The rage she felt in the battle, the wild exhilaration, had melted away. It had felt good, but now a new emotion swept through her. Hope for her village. Then came the fear. She would be saying goodbye to Marcus, Dëshoma, Kulri, Twist, and Éjyona. She would be leaving the party.
Good thing Éjyona joined up. She's a good replacement for me. And he'll find another beautiful woman to love.
“Marcusssss!” Twist shouted.
Maria turned her head to see Marcus racing across the room towards the far wall. Iris buzzed around his head, her pink glow gleaming off his breastplate. Maria frowned and rose to her feet, Dëshoma and Kulrigiizhai with her. Through the gloom of the room, the human's keen eyes spotted a closing door.
“Oh, no,” she gasped. “What is he doing?” She clutched the tear to her breasts as Marcus dove for the narrowing gap. Her heart clenched as it hit his armor only for Shield of Faith to spring around him and ward him from danger. Then he crawled free.
BOOM!
The sound echoed through the room. Twist stumbled to a halt before the sealed portal and hissed in frustration.
“What has so spurred our leader to throw himself beneath yon door?” Dëshoma asked.
“That blue-plumed shit-licker!” snarled Twist. “Rūzem's greasy touch!” She smacked the wall. “It's a foot thick of granite. How are we getting through that?”
“We are not,” Kulri said.
“No,” Dëshoma whimpered.
“Is there another way?” Éjyona asked. “Or a hidden mechanism to open the passage?”
Maria slipped her prize into her pouch and joined the others in the quest to find a way to go after Marcus, fear beating in her heart.
* * / *
The Warrior's footsteps clanged down the tunnel. I ran after, Iris lighting the way.
“This was a bad idea,” she muttered.
“It'll be fine,” I said. “Ëshuxeri is watching over us.”
“Oh.” Isis swooped in an oscillating up and down arc before me. “Are you sure?”
“Nope. But I'm a Paladin. I'm getting all those points in Faith. I should believe that this will work out, huh?”
“Is that how Faith operates?”
I shrugged and reached a corner. The sounds came from the right. I turned and headed down it, pushing myself to my full run. I wouldn't let the Blue-Plumed Warrior get away. Frustration rippled through me. The Gods of Light and Order should be on my side, not helping the depraved cultists trying to rip the world apart.
A light bobbed ahead. A shadow stretched out. The Warrior had gone down another hallway. I reached it, running past moss-coated walls. These tunnels had been carved. Who had built these? Why? The questions flitted through my mind as I spotted the Warrior ahead.
“Stop running, you fucking coward!” I growled. “Be a fucking Warrior and fight.”
The figure slowed. Turned, bringing the lantern held in his hand before him. A blinding light that hid the figure. A voice laughed. The sound echoed through the tunnels. “You are what they fear, aren't you? Crossing the Digital Barrier has given you abilities.”
“Not that I've seen!” I growled. “I have the same as everyone else. That microtransaction wasn't pay to win. Just put me here.”
“Pay to win?” Confusion echoed from the helmet. It distorted the Warrior's voice, making every word ring like a bell.
As I came closer, I saw he stood in a circular room. A place with room for us to fight. Perfect. I slowed the last ten feet, raising my kite shield before me, my ax ready. I stepped out to face the Warrior. He set the lantern in the middle, the light blazing off the smooth walls.
“You do not know the danger you pose to this world,” said the Warrior. “It would be best if you just died.”
“You really think I'm not going to fight tooth and nail to stay alive?” I snorted. “What sort of a moron are you?”
“I suppose that's to be expected,” the Warrior said, shaking his head. The plume waved. He raised steel longsword, the image of an angel etched into the metal of the blade. On his kite shield lay the golden circle of the Gods of Light and Order.
He dressed like a crusader. “Why am I a threat?” I demanded. “I want to heal this world, just like the Gods of Light and Order do.”
The Warrior didn't answer.
“Fuck, you don't know why I have to die.”
“The Hierophant's Prophecy. You are the doom of this world. You fight well. No more assassins. No more catspaws. I shall slay you personally. Be honored, Marcus Aurelius.”
I spat. “To fuck with your honor. I'm going to kick your ass and then you're going to tell me everything I want to know.”
“Come and try!” he spat, anger resounding in his words.
We rushed at each other, both Yelling. My ax blazed with divine light as I swung a Holy Strike down at his head. He raised a warding shield. Metal slammed into metal. A screech as my weapon skidded across the kite shield. An answering blow swiped at me. It hit hard, a shivering impact that rushed up through my shield.
I growled and hammered my ax again, swinging hard, a series of three chops.
CLANG! CLANG! GONG!
My first two struck shield but the last struck armor, hitting the breastplate but not penetrating. His sword stabbed at me. I battered it aside with my shield and swung. Our weapons clashed off the other's armor. Shield. I snarled then unleashed a Hard Blow.
I caught the armor low and cut through the breastplate. But the steel resisted my blow enough, blunting the damage. But I had scored a wound, if a minor one. I snarled, realizing my Level 10 weapon wasn't strong enough against the armor he wore.
I didn't care. I swung again, putting my righteous fury into it. The Warrior retreated, hiding behind his shield. His stance shifted. He entered something defensive. A guard position that caught all my attacks. My blows.
“Fucking coward!” I snarled. “A tanking stance?”
“You abandoned the pure craft of the Fighter for the dilution of Faith!” the Warrior spat.
“You serve Pushijer and disdain me for becoming a holy warrior?” I snarled back.
“In the arts of combat, you must be pure. Just like my devotion to Pushijer. I have mastered the ultimate defense.”
I swung harder, putting my all into it. My ax was hitting hard, but not getting through. I dented his shield, marred it. I snarled, needing more damage. There was one way to do it. I threw off my shield and went to two-handed fighting.
I gripped my ax in both hands and battered down at his shield. It rang like a gong. The reverberations spilled through the room. Iris danced around the edges, her pink light spilling around us while we fought about the lantern. The Warrior grunted. Growled as I drove him back.
“You might have the perfect defens
e, but you're going to fuck up eventually!” I snarled and unleashed another Holy Strike.
I swung my ax down and clipped the top of his shield. My weapon skirted over and struck the helm. The metal rang. A solid blow, but not enough to overcome his defense. Frustration rippled through me.
Then his sword shot out and struck my weapon. I gasped as it flew from my grip. Disarm. It was a skill I rarely used. A defensive one while I preferred offense.
“Shit!” I snarled and went to grab it.
The Warrior kicked my ax away and then swung his sword at me. I jumped back, the blade hacking before me. The Warrior laughed and then stabbed at my side. I tried to dodge it but failed. It struck my armor, sliding along the metal but failing to penetrate.
I laughed until I felt my armor sagging. The strap holding it on me had been severed. Then it burst off and my back and breastplates fell to the ground, leaving me bare-chested. Over half my defense cleaved away by that attack.
“The fuck?” I growled.
“Armor Break!” Iris gasped. “It's a Level 19 Warrior ability.”
“Shit,” I growled as the sword hacked at me, driving me back. I had better dodge, but nothing to blunt the damage. And I was all out of healing. My weapon discarded. I could fight bare-handed, but I would do far less damage.
What did I have left? As far as magic items, I had two effects left. My cock ring could let me breed a woman, or I could grow a pair of tentacles to molest a woman.
What good were those?
I grinned as an idea sparked in my mind. I dodged the sword. Then I punched out. My fist slammed into the Warrior's sword arm, hitting the gauntlet he wore. Metal rang. I hardly felt the impact on my knuckles. The weapon flew from his hand and hit the floor.
“Aphounga's shattered sword!” spat the Warrior.
“Not the only one that can Disarm,” I spat, darting a hand for the weapon.
I didn't have the trait to use a sword to its fullest, possessing Ax Mastery, but it was better than no weapon. My hand closed on it only for the Warrior to slam into me. I gasped as we fell into a grappling heap, him on top.
“Shit,” I snarled, grabbing him.
We rolled, metal clanging as we tumbled, metal fists slamming into my sides. I snarled, tumbling over and ending up on my back again. He was strong. He had gone down the Strength Path whereas I went hybrid with Faith. Every level since 10, he'd gained 3 points of Strength while I had only gained 2 along with a point of Faith.
I fought from dominance, but he had me pinned. I snarled, needing an advantage. I had to fight dirty if I wanted to win this fight. The blows to my side were bruising me, sapping my Hit Points. I'd be taken out if I didn't change the flow of the battle.
“Go, Marcus!” Iris cheered around me.
I went for the easiest vulnerable spot on the Warrior. As he punched my side again and again, I grabbed the helmet and ripped it off, prepared to start gouging eyes and—
I wasn't prepared for the face I saw staring back at me.
It wasn't human, but it also wasn't male.
It was an orc. A female orc with green skin and thick lips curled back in a snarl. Boney eyebrows furrowed while a thick tail of purple hair spilled down the left side of her cheek. It was a strong face, Amazonian and feminine all at the same time. Black eyes blazed with fierce passion.
“You will die here!” she cried, her voice clearly female, no longer half-muffled and distorted by her helmet.
“That's not happening,” I said, grinning.
“Why are you smiling?” she asked as I activated my magic item.
“You're a woman.”
“And?”
The tentacles burst from my sides. I felt them growing, sensed them with my mind. They felt no different from the rest of me. I could feel the air around them. Move them with ease. They were flexible, had no bones but possessed a rubbery, almost elastic, rigidity. I surged them at her, the ends striking her armor, the seams where the buckles were located.
She didn't realize what I was doing to her. She punched me in the side again as my tentacles worked on the straps. A loud clang echoed as the stressed metal came unfastened. She gasped in shock and I bucked my hip, rolling her off of me.
Her breastplate remained on my chest.
Green, round tits appeared, heaving as she hit her back. She gasped, her arms, covered in armor, went to cover herself.
I grinned as my tentacles shot for the cuisses strapped over the leather pants cladding her thighs. Her eyes widened as I ripped away her plates while I loomed over her. I grabbed her arms covering her tits and ripped them away from her breasts.
“What is going on?” she gasped as my tentacles threw her thigh protection to the side. Then they attacked her leather pants. “How do you have those?”
“Don't you know what sort of world this is?” I asked her as I watched her dark-green nipples harden. The orc shuddered beneath me, her cheeks darkening. “It's a world where sex dominates. Where the man seduces and the woman submits.”
“You think you can seduce me?” she snarled, defiance in her black eyes. Her arms thrashed against my grip, trying to pull free, but I was suddenly stronger than her. Unmasking her, revealing her sex, had changed the battle.
The rules.
“Ooh, Marcus, she's got nice boobies!” Iris said. “You should grab them.”
“Maybe I should,” I said and slithered my fleshy tentacles up her body.
“What? N-no!” The orc Warrior squirmed as they came closer and closer to her heaving breasts.
I shuddered as my tentacles wrapped around them. They held the same beige hue as my skin. I grinned as I squeezed them, felt their firm plumpness. They were ripe tits. She was so soft beneath my squeezing touch. I shook her boobs, her nipples waving.
“Mmm, how much do you like that?” I asked her, my cock growing hard in my pants.
“I don't!” she spat. “You are not going to tame my body.”
“Yes, he is,” cooed Isis. She buzzed lower. “Marcus is the best. He'll make you cum so hard.”
“No man has ever achieved that!” snarled the orc. “I kill any who dare touch me.”
My tentacles squeezed her breasts. “I dare.” I pinned her arms over her head. She groaned, squirming beneath me. I leaned over her, loving the way her tits jiggled. “What's your name, beautiful.”
She hissed.
“Mmm, maybe it's slut,” I said.
Her eyes widened. “Slut?”
“Your nipples are hard.” The ends of my tentacles slithered up her tits and then rubbed at her nubs. She gasped and squirmed. “And I bet you're so wet.”
“Ooh, I bet she is,” Iris moaned. She buzzed down beneath me. I could feel the air stirring around my stomach. “I can smell her, Marcus. So spicy. Mmm, just delicious.”
I felt the pixie then tugging at the lacings of my leather pants, undoing them. My cock throbbed as I leaned down, my eyes staring into the orc's all-black depths. They were so shiny they reflected my features in them.
“If your name's not slut, then what is it?” I asked, my tentacles squeezing about her ripe breasts and round tits.
She gasped and whimpered, her face twisting in delight. She fought against my touch, groaning through clenched teeth. I grinned at her, loving her squirming. I came closer to her lips while Iris peeled open my fly.
“You're going to cum hard, slut,” I crooned.
“It's Shorhe!” she cried. “Not slut!”
Iris threw open my fly. I could hear her grunts and moans. Then her small, naked body grabbed my cock. She hugged me tight, arms and thighs wrapped about my girth. Her wings fluttered, the air swirling around my crotch, bathing my balls. Then she released me.
Shorhe's eyes widened. The orc squirmed and looked down between us. She let out a whimpering moan, her body trembling beneath me. What was Iris doing to her? Was my naughty pixie undoing Shorhe's pants?
Probably.
“Now,” I said, my tentacles manipulating her nipples, m
assaging them and squeezing her tits, “you're going to tell me about this Hierophant's Prophecy or—”
“I won't tell you anything!” she hissed, squirming beneath me. Her tits jiggled in my tentacles' grips. These were such handy things.
“You won't?” I asked. I clutched both her wrists in my right hand while my left slid down to stroke her cheek. Even her face felt silky and tender. She shivered beneath me, her body squirming.
“Never! I'll die before I answer any of your questions.”
“But then you won't get to feel my cock sliding into your pussy,” I told her. “You're going to miss out on all that pleasure I'll give you.”
Her eyes widened. They truly were all black, but so expressive despite that. “W-what?”
“I know, Shorhe, you're naughty cunt is just begging for my sword to sheath in you, isn't it?”
“O-of course not!” she protested, her body squirming. “That's ridiculous. As if you could ever satisfy me.”
“Are you sure about that?” I asked, squeezing her tits. They felt so plump wrapped up in my tentacles. My finger traced up to her lips.
She tried to bite it. How cute.
“I think she does,” Iris said. Her wings brushed my cock. “There we are. I got her open. That was so tough. She wears her pants tight, but I tugged them down. Here we are.”
My delightful pixie grabbed my cock and guided me into the hot, shaved folds of the orc's pussy. Shorhe gasped and trembled beneath me. She squirmed as the naughty Iris worked my dick's tip up and down juicy folds. My cock ring twisted about, sending pleasure up my shaft.
I grinned as I felt how wet the orc had become. This sexy Warrior trembled beneath me, groaning and gasping. The pleasure crossed her face. She tried to hide it, but I could see it. Iris nuzzled my cock into Shorhe's hot pussy, pressing my tip into the orc's hard clit.
Shorhe gasped while I fought my moan. My cock piercing shifted and twisted.
“You're not going to have the honor of cumming on my cock if you don't tell me about this prophecy,” I continued.
