by Iliev, Neven
Drea, on the other hand greatly, enjoyed Xera’s flavor. She expected the succubus to be delicious based on what she had seen on the Boxxy Show, but unlike her new master, she needed more than simple flavor. While the shapeshifter seemed content to just enjoy the fleeting taste of a demon’s conjured flesh, a stalker required something that could actually fill their belly. Drea was no different, which was why she agreed to this little… bonding exercise.
But, as things stood, the only thing the she-stalker’s current feeding frenzy accomplished was leaving her feeling strangely frustrated and disappointed. Xera served as a great appetizer, but once the novelty had worn off, which didn’t really take long, Drea was left with an ever-increasing craving for some actual meat, blood, and guts to sink her mandibles into. To a demon as gluttonous as a stalker, the whole thing was like foreplay with no payoff. Yet, Drea kept stubbornly gnawing on Xera’s succulent flesh, determined to get the most out of the experience.
She was just about to call it quits, when Boxxy called in to check on her, much to the spider-girl’s surprised delight. They spoke briefly, after which it must have exchanged words with Xera, seeing as her face suddenly lit up.
“I’ve got good news!” the succubus declared. “Master said it will be joining us in the bath.”
“W-what?! Like, now?!”
Drea tossed the half-eaten leg she was gnawing on aside and proceeded to spin and flail around in a panic, splashing Waters of Life all over the place.
“B-b-but why?! How?!” she stammered. “Tktktktktk! A bath with the Boxxy T. Morningwood?! M-m-my heart’s not ready for this! Tktktktktk!”
“We don’t even have those.”
“That’s not the point! I mean, Master will definitely want to s-s-s-sample me, right?!”
“Uh… Huh.”
Now that Xera thought about it, it was rather strange that her Master hadn’t taste-tested its new familiar right away. It did so both with herself and that moronic fiend, yet hadn’t even batted an eye at Drea. Boxxy had never been one to hold back, which could only mean one thing—if it hadn’t done so immediately, then it likely had no intention of ever doing so.
“Actually no, I don’t think that’ll happen,” the succubus concluded.
“But what will I do if he t-t-tries me and finds my flavor displeasing?!”
“That’s what you’re worried about?!” asked Xera with a dumbfounded expression.
“Of course, I am! I don’t want to sully his refined taste buds with anything foul! Spiders in general taste terrible, and I’m probably no different! Gah, if only I knew for sure! Tktktktktktk… Oh wait, I know!”
Drea unhesitantly ripped off her own leg and brought it up to her face while a new limb grew back to replace it. The stalker’s lower jaw unhinged similarly to a snake’s, revealing the many sharp, pointy teeth she normally kept hidden behind her lips. Her maw was now so wide that it looked big enough to eat a person’s head in two, maybe three bites. Drea then used that terrifying abyss to take a sizable bite out of her own thigh.
She then chewed on it.
Once.
“Pthooey!” she spat out, tossing the limb away in the process. “Bleh! I knew it! I’m disgusting! Now the Master will hate meeee! Waaaahahaaah!”
The succubus was speechless. Not only did this bug just attempt self-cannibalism, but she also started wailing in despair over the thought her mortal master might dislike her. Was this really the behavior of a demon who was senior to her in both age and experience? Now that she thought about, it was extremely likely this hardened assassin was a total greenhorn when it came to interpersonal relations.
After all, stalkers were socially awkward loners that were never seen by mortals under normal circumstances. That matron of theirs was a prime example, but also an extreme case. While Overlord Liusolra hated being seen by everyone and everything, the rest of her species didn’t particularly mind being in the company of other demons. They didn’t exactly like it, but they didn’t outright hate it either. Point was, they were all immensely fidgety and socially awkward, but this was the first time Xera had seen or even heard of one of these arachnid terrors outright sob.
“Now there’s no way in the Beyond he will like meee-heee!”
Something in Xera’s head clicked when she heard those words. The succubus had been ignoring it for a while now, but she now noticed that Drea referred to Boxxy, a notoriously sexless creature, as ‘he’ and ‘him.’ It was a small thing, but Xera realized this implied that new girl saw her own master as a romantic interest. This implied that her earlier declaration of love had been, in fact, genuine affection, rather than a confused appetite.
That said, ‘love’ was probably too strong a word for what this stalker felt. Her behavior was like that of a fangirl, a maiden fawning over some famous person she’d only seen from afar. No wonder why she flailed around like an epileptic squirrel earlier—she was freaking out over the thought of having the object or her distant adoration suddenly give her personal attention. It was both sad and pathetic, but Xera would be lying if she said she didn’t understand her new colleague’s feelings.
The succubus was now certain that what Drea really wanted was acceptance and praise from the one she admired. This was a good thing, as it was a lot better than the other two familiars’ initial assumption that she wished to devour their master. Upon determining the stalker’s motives, Xera decided to do what she thought was best for her beloved Boxxy. If this confused spider-girl could be persuaded into becoming a truly loyal server like herself and, to a lesser extent, that brick-brained brawler, then that would only increase their master’s chances of survival.
Boxxy surviving for as long as chestily possible was of utmost importance to Xera, and not just because she didn’t wish to see her beloved disappear. The shapeshifter was maturing at an incredibly rapid rate, both intellectually and emotionally. There was no telling what sort of Skills, Perks, or Rank Ups it might acquire. All things considered, Xera felt as if there was, as the God of Chaos would put it, a ‘non-zero chance’ of that monster eventually developing the ability to both receive and reciprocate romantic feelings. Boxxy would need to continue living for a long, long time for that to happen though, hence why it was Xera’s self-appointed duty to ensure its continued survival.
Even if it meant ‘sharing’ the monster with this naive spider-girl with a screw loose.
“There, there, it’s okay, sweetie,” said Xera with a reassuring pat on the shoulder. “Taste isn’t everything Master cares about.”
“Really?” Drea asked between her half-sobs, half-cries. “Th-then there’s a chance he’ll like me anyway?!”
“Of course. You just have to make yourself seem ‘shiny’ enough.”
“Oh! Like that tiny Paladin?!”
“No, dearie, not quite as literally as that.”
Her carapace had some potential in that regard, but she had no hope of matching the luster of Fizzy’s mithril frame. Even Xera had to admit that golem looked absolutely fabulous.
“You just need to make yourself useful and help Master’s treasure hoard grow,” she clarified. “If you do that, then it will be sure to think of you as useful.”
The stalker’s eyes suddenly went wide as she realized something.
“I see, I see! Of course, there was that method as well! As expected of Master, he really thought of everything! Thanks so much for the talk, Snack! You’re the bestktktktktk!”
Drea lunged forward and wrapped her arms around Xera. She planted a big, fat kiss on the startled succubus’s lips. Well, a ‘kiss’ in stalker terms, which meant she had actually bitten the lower half of Xera’s face clean off, but neither of them particularly minded it.
Once the two calmed down a bit, the succubus proceeded to thoroughly instruct the newcomer on how to best serve Boxxy and anticipate its wishes. Even if it had gotten smarter and better at expressing itself lately, it hadn’t stopped incessantly referring to things as either ‘tasty’ or ‘shiny’ when it w
asn’t in character. Well, Drea didn’t need much schooling on that. The stalker apparently hadn’t missed a single episode of the Boxxy Show, though she did have few misconceptions.
Apparently, most demons, Drea included, believed the shapeshifter had a thing for large-breasted females. An erroneous assumption to be sure, although an expected one considering the company it kept. What was surprising, however, was the fact that its catgirl act was so good that it completely fooled a significant number of viewers into thinking its displays of affection towards Rowana were genuine. Hearing the truth only made Drea’s opinion of her new master soar even higher. Not only was it hiding in plain sight, but it was doing so in a way she had no hope of pulling off. Realizing it was spinning its own web of lies and deceit all this time made her bug-eyes almost literally sparkle with admiration.
That was hardly the main reason she felt attracted to it, though. It was the way Boxxy hunted with a focus on ambushing, murdering, and then eating up its prey without giving it a chance to fight back. On the rare occasions that ambushing its target failed, it would wear it down by striking from multiple angles and using any means available to keep its opponent confused and off-balance the entire time. It behaved so much like a stalker, that at some point Drea stopped thinking of it as a box with legs and instead viewed it as a spider with a chest-shaped thorax. Also, those imitation limbs that served as its preferred mode of transportation were, in her own words, ‘incredibly handsome.’ The fact that it was also the Progenitor’s chosen Hero was icing on the cake.
The stalker then spent the next few minutes psyching herself up. This time, she would greet it properly. She would show her value and walk by its side with pride.
All that motivation and determination disappeared the instant Boxxy arrived, as Drea bolted up to the nearby cavern wall and skittered away at full speed. In the end, she could not work up the courage to present herself before her Master unless she was ordered to. Not that Boxxy had any intention of doing that anyway. Much like Xera had deduced, it had already anticipated she would taste horrible. Not only was she part spider, but also a demon. Every single demon that Boxxy had taken a bite of had terrible flavor. Aside from Snack, of course, which was why it was there in the first place.
Since it had already dined on a small herd of sheep just outside of the city, it didn’t have any of Drea’s conundrums regarding the fullness of its stomach and gladly feasted on the ever-regenerating succubus’s body. Unlike the spider-girl, it did so viciously and violently, tearing off huge parts of her with the jagged, misaligned teeth of a mimic. This finally gave Xera the satisfaction she craved, as it had been far too long since her Master had abused her so thoroughly. The agony of having her bones violently crushed and her flesh forcefully ripped apart by Boxxy was what she truly desired, and she was finally getting an extra-sized helping of it.
The faux-mimic also found this prolonged ‘snack time’ considerably better than usual. The fact it could keep eating its favorite Snack seemingly without end was both greatly enjoyable and strangely relaxing. Was that latter part due to the effects of the lukewarm, demon-blood-stained Waters of Life? Baths being relaxing generally made sense from an enlightened point of view, but Boxxy never saw it as anything more than a chore. Perhaps this situation proved that even tedious things like baths were enjoyable, if one had the right company to share them with. That said, the shapeshifter could do without Claws staring intently at it from the far end of the chamber. Come to think of it, it was about time to put that stalker to work.
In the following days, Boxxy ordered Drea to follow it around town during the daytime. She was told to keep herself out of sight while the doppelganger played around with the elves under the guise of Keira. It served as both a test of just how good her hiding abilities were, and as insurance. It was good to have her on hand, in case Boxxy wanted something or someone to disappear instantly and without a trace. Such a thing wasn’t likely to happen in these relatively peaceful streets, but the spider-girl was still overjoyed at the prospect. Stalkers gotta stalk, after all.
Boxxy completely understood and sympathized with the spider-girl’s monstrous urges. Unlike her previous masters, it wholeheartedly encouraged that behavior, just as Drea hoped. In the past, she would usually only be called out to fight monsters or to help cut through some magical barrier or obstacle. Actual tracking and assassination assignments, which were both her forte and her favorite, hadn’t been all that common. It wasn’t as if she hadn’t been previously contracted to devious, ill-meaning bastards that needed people disappeared. The problem was that they were either too stupid to survive the criminal underworld, or too afraid to bear the responsibility of ordering a demon to take another’s life.
This time was different. No matter how deplorable or evil, none of Drea’s previous masters could hold a candle to the ruthless awesomeness of Boxxy T. Morningwood. Watching it completely fool and bedazzle every single person it interacted with was endlessly enthralling from the she-stalker’s perspective. The way that man-eater freely communicated with those it saw as nothing more than food was truly awe-inspiring. It honestly made the stalker a little bit envious of how confidently it spouted an endless stream of lies and bullshit, as she would never be able to do that.
And just when she thought she couldn’t like her Master even more, Boxxy finally gave Drea a new set of orders regarding her nightly duties.
These instructions involved helping Ambrosia out with her endless pest problems. Although those termites were a hylt tree’s greatest enemy, they were hardly the only vermin around. The gigantic tree’s canopy was a place very few elves ever visited due to how impractical and remote it was. That vast sea of leaves and branches was therefore allowed to thrive and develop almost completely undisturbed by civilization, and had become its own ecosystem. It quite literally crawled with all manner of annoying vermin that Ambrosia couldn’t get out of her literal and figurative hair.
The biggest offenders were tri-horned beetles, crimson cicadas, armored caterpillars, and a few other oversized insectoid monsters. Apparently, these giant bugs constantly chipped away at her bark, drank up her sap, and feasted on her leaves and fruits. Such things grew back rapidly due to the hylt tree’s nearly limitless vitality, so the amount of damage they did was incomparable to the threat of an out-of-control termite infestation. They also had natural predators in the form of the gigantic, eagle-like birds called rocs that kept their numbers in check. In reality, their presence was an annoyance at best. So, the dryad mostly ignored them. At least until Boxxy asked whether it was okay to sweep all of them away, to which she eagerly agreed. In fact, even those birds were not blameless in her eyes, as they often broke off bits of branches and foliage to make their nests.
It was thus that the gluttonous Drea was unleashed upon this high-altitude biome. She mercilessly hunted and ate every single insect she came across, devouring them with great gusto. Even the rocs became her meals after succumbing to her poison and webs. And the more she fed on their entrails, the more her Blood Gorger Skill boosted her physical abilities. The dryad even offered to let the demon avail herself of the copious amounts of sickeningly-sweet, overripe fruit that hung from her topmost branches. Stalkers were not picky eaters, unlike a certain mimic-turned-doppelganger, so the spider-girl eagerly scarfed those down as well.
All things said and done, Drea’s nightly feeding frenzies were the stuff of legends. Her appetite easily surpassed even that of her gluttonous Master. She still took Xera’s advice to heart and set aside much of the juiciest Roc meat as a present to Boxxy, but even then the amount of food she devoured was many times her own weight. In fact, it was far too much, even by stalker standards. This no longer seemed to be a matter of her own enjoyment. Well, she did find joy in the act of stuffing her face, but the main reason she did that so vehemently was because it was a necessary step towards fulfilling her Master’s wishes.
A stalker’s seemingly bottomless pit of a stomach did actually digest everything deposited
inside it. It did so at a very rapid rate, although it wasn’t because it was necessary to sustain the demon’s body. The extracted nutrients would instead be stored up and then used to produce a type of enchanted spider thread that was different from the one Drea used against Xera, and was something Boxxy knew about well in advance due to the high Level of its Demonology Skill.
This special lavender-colored thread would not fade with the passage of time and was actually a very valuable material. While incredibly flammable in its raw form, that drawback went away once it was properly processed and woven into a fabric that was unimaginatively called ‘demon silk.’ It was a sturdy, slash-resistant cloth that was perfect for housing enchantments. The material was used to make either high-quality adventurer gear, such as cloaks, pouches and robes, or expensive luxury items, such as gowns, suits, carpets, and tapestries. Although Drea herself lacked the ability to make anything other than webs, she could still produce rolls of silken thread that could be sold at a very good price.
The reason it was so expensive was that, even though all stalkers could make it, they were a relatively uncommon choice of familiar. Not to mention that it was also normally quite difficult to feed them to the extent where they could produce it at a constant rate. The conversion ratio, so to speak, of nutrients to thread was so bad that many Warlocks didn’t even bother. Stalkers also hated being used exclusively as demon silk factories, and actively angering one’s demonic familiars was pretty high up on the list of things an adventurer should not do.
Drea’s situation was a special one, though. For one thing, she was eager to impress her new master even if it meant doing something she would normally despise. Food was also a non-issue, as Ambrosia’s canopy had plenty of meat and fruit to keep her pumping out demon silk on a daily basis, which could then be sold or traded in exchange for shinies. The main issue Boxxy faced was that it currently lacked a secure way of pawning off the demon silk, so it decided to stockpile the stuff until a buyer could be found.
