shekhawatdigvijay000: To answer your question, yes it's pretty much AU. This takes place after Dark Wolf Shiro's Necromancy but before Conquest, which means that Lucille had already killed Kuro at this time. This takes place within the long span of years that Shiro had taken to build Isis, kuro's system.
Arhen was one of the many prototypes that came from Shiro trying to build Isis. Many others were destroyed like you said, but Arhen was one of the ones that Shiro had forgotten about.
(Edit) Just added a few touch ups here and there and an update to the description itself, I tried not to give too much away. Prepare though, shit's hitting the fan next chapter.
Arhen
[Spellweaver] [Level - 25/100]
Description: A Talented maestro of spellcasting, a class depicting the use of wielding spells from opposing forces to their maximum potential using mediums like Magic Circles, Dual Casting and Runes.
Provides a 150% boost to MP and MP Regen.
Provides a 30% DMG boost to all Spells.
Provides a 75% DMG increase when using Dual Casting spells of opposing forces.
The Spellweaver class I got from Weiss last night is excellent with the new [Ice Seed] spell Ive received.
It's a spell that does take some time to charge depending on what I want to use it for. Shooting it made it implode and break on impact and if I didn't I could use it to lightly freeze anything close to me. It's not deep freeze, and I won't be turning people into ice statues anytime soon but using it right could still deal some very good damage.
The birch trees from earlier can attest to that claim.
For some reason, Willow had brought me outside with her when I went to the library. The sedan was driven by another servant, who stayed inside as we both ventured into the forest.
She had a bow with her, one of bright transparent glass. And some arrows. Both of which were sitting softly on her lap as I pushed on her wheelchair.
"This here is good enough." Willow said. We were far enough into the forest that we could see some trees and still be within range of the sedan.
With her reputation of me being locked, I was confident that she wouldn't try anything. But it still came as very much a surprise when ske slowly planted her feet on the snow and rose from her wheelchair on her two legs.
Willow must've seen the bewildered look on my face, as she turned around and hid her giggles beneath a gloved hand.
"Surprising, isn't it?" She goaded.
She…was a lot taller than I first imagined. So much so that I felt a bit embarrassed that I only came up to the top of her eyebrows. It wasn't that much of a height difference but I was a bit miffed.
Willow reached for the bow and the set of arrows that layed on her wheelchair. I blinked. "I was under the impression that you were crippled, Madam Schnee."
"Willow."
"Excuse me?" I questioned.
She drew the arrow quilt onto her back. "Call me Willow."
I didn't bother to question her out right, despite the many I had in my mind. "Willow…" I called.
Willow seemed to brighten up. But I'm glad she didn't turn to me when she smiled. Calling her by name wasn't a problem, but I don't think I managed to hide how annoyed I felt bending over backwards for her.
+5 Affection with [Willow Schnee] for calling her name. [10/100]
I let it go easily enough. Watching her notch an arrow on her bow and shoot her marks in the tree made me realize that I haven't scanned her once since fixing the System Scan.
Willow Schnee
Level - ?
Tier - Elite
What the hell?
I might've felt slightly better just knowing her level. This was no fault of the system scan this time. Willow was just over 50 levels higher than me.
That was assuming it was just 50 levels she surpassed me by. The tier she had suggested so.
Poor Willow thinks I'm still shocked about her condition. To be honest, I still am. I'm just thinking about what and who had managed to put her in that wheelchair.
She looked at down at her legs that started to ever so slightly shake. "Calcium Deficiency caused the bone marrow in both my femurs to deteriorate." Willow explained.
"They're hollow, and can quite literally snap if I trip on a rock or bend to low." Willow continued, firing the arrow and notching another on the bow. "It used to be manageable with pills, but I got hairline fractures on both during one mission that made it too risky to walk outright."
"And yet you're standing here on uneven snow," I added. "Taking potshots at trees."
Willow's eyes widened."Arhen…are you perhaps worried?"
Sadly, I'm not. "Do I not even have the right to worry, Willow?" I lied, allowing the dread of Lucille's arrival bubble up in my stomach for a moment. Long enough for her to see my expression.
This lie had better work, I felt filthier now than how I get during sessions with Weiss, just by the notion of dragging that foreboding feeling out of me.
Willow turned and went right back to shooting. Although I never missed that slight red tint to her ears. Was she embarrassed or blushing? Perhaps the little girl inside her fell for me while the grown up is trying to keep it hidden.
+20 Affection with [Willow Schnee] for expressing your worry for her health. [30/100]
Will she leave the liar for me?
I'm not going to lie, the notion was tempting. Having this woman under my thumb. Weiss is already mine, though untrained and without any real knowledge of who truely depends on who.
I wasn't particularly fond of losing my cool in front of Jacques that one time and giving him something to work with. Weiss and Willow may no longer be a danger to me, but that's not to say that Whitley won't take action. Faceman implied back in the mine that he was the worst of the Schnee's. In my opinion, he's less of a pain than the Liar.
Seeing as Willow was most probably going to carry on until her quill is empty, I sat down on a large stone nearby and fiddled on my scroll. I thought back to yesterday, the red-eyed woman named Slayer. She gave me an odd sort of vibe, kind of like a storm and how one found it difficult to stop staring at it despite it's danger.
The first thing I thought of was why do they call her by such an obvious alias. Perhaps looking for any info on her would be the first thing I use the internet to search for.
Results of the search had turned up videos of a conference she had weeks ago. Before I arrived. That wasn't all, there were news reports, forums, blogs dedicated to her. Calling her the Titan Slayer.
As alluring as her storm-like pull on me is, I highly doubt she was involved alongside the Greek Gods in butchering Chronos and Gaia. So I'll assume that the moniker attached to her means something else entirely.
To be fair, I did happen to stumble across a news report that managed to record an instant of her fighting.
The Grimm she was fighting had me stumped, it looked like a Mandragora the size of half a city and was shaped like an elephant. The audio grew hard to sit through when the Grimm started to stomp the ground.
I guess these are those ' Titans' she kills. It did seem quite impressive, and I bet one of those stomps could reduce the Manor to dust and destroy the entire city with the tremor it must cause on this world's tectonic plates.
The video was a good 16 minutes long, and Slayer didn't even take three to have it on the ground. It did seem very much alive. But the tremors caused by the beast had managed to break the camera lens of the video. I sat here staring at a blank screen with only the Grimms cries to guide me.
At least it saved itself from embarrassment. Sadly, I didn't get to really determine the true extent of the Titan Slayer's ability thanks to it so part of me wished that I was the one ripping it to shreads.
I sighed.
At the very least, I was not ungrateful at the information it's presence signified. I now know that these things exist, and that I might run into them sooner or later.
In all the videos and conferences I've watched she was always beside the general I saw yesterday. General Ironwood.
General Jaina Ironwood.
At least the internet had more info of her rather than Slayer. She's like a ghost, a phantom. To both this world and my own knowledge as a system.
Only a few hours remain till she arrives, with Slayer most likely in tow.
The forest rang hollow as through the corner of my eye, I spotted Willow notching one last arrow. Then her quill that was empty.
I pulled myself off the rock and pocketed my scroll. Dusting off my pants and looking into the forest.
Right, break time is over.
Willow sat back down on her wheelchair seemingly flushed as I began to systematically remove the numerous arrows lodged into the trees. Luckily most of them seemed to have been lodged in just the one in front of me.
Collecting the arrows was only the work of a couple of minutes. Willow held out the quill as I poured the arrows into it. My eyes lingered on the bow, and Willow noticed.
Slowly, as if hesitating bit by bit, her hand gild over mine and held it. "Do you want to give it a try?" She asked.
I looked up and stared at her. "May I?"
Willow lifted her hands and loosed her grip as if giving the bow to me. As I took it in my hands, Willow took the chance to stand once more and strap the quiver of arrows to my waist.
I looked down at the bow, further inspection had determined the bow to be made of crystal, by which I could only assume is derived from empty dust crystals. Only a little similar to the bow Lucille uses.
It certainly was beautiful, but it's not mine. Knowing who the owner was certainly won't stop me from stealing it but I didn't have a real use for the thing aside from sating my idle curiosity about shooting arrows.
Perhaps eventually I'd garner more of an interest towards using archery and come back for this bow. But for now, it wasn't worth the scan.
I turned to the trees and pulled out my first arrow. I spotted a tree about 50yards away. Close and hard to miss. Although I wouldn't get to show off, the tree made an excellent first target.
As I notched the arrow and started to tug as the bow strings, I noticed the sturdiness of how the strings were tied. Surprisingly, it took a lot more strength than I had originally anticipated to pull on this thing.
STR Check l Req - 35 l Current - 41l PASSED
I still managed to get through the check, though a bit of elbow grease was needed. I pulled back the arrow until I could see it's feathers next to my right eye. Then I released it.
The arrow flew through the air and completely the mark, only lightly scraping the bark.
How embarrassing. There was no excuses, I had a clear shot at 50 yards, with vision that could even pick out blades of grass. That attempt was just fucking pathetic.
I could hear Willow stand from her wheelchair again. This time with an unmistakable giggle. Glad to see our cripple is enjoying herself.
"You're doing it wrong."
Part of me had already guessed that by the arrow and the way I missed my target, but oh well. "Truly?" I asked.
Willow said nothing, moving closer to only stand behind me and lightly kick against my heels. "Your footing is off, spread your legs more." She murmured, snaking her arms over mine and guiding the bow. "You don't need to pull too hard on the string, you only do that if you want to get more range, this is 50 yards. All you need is just to hit the targets, having more range is pretty useless at this distance." Willow explained.
Her shaking legs caused her to stumble on me a bit. Not much to defer my footing but her head ended up on my neck.
She didn't move, and her explanations had died out moments ago. I could feel Willow take a small sniff of me, almost like a bitch in heat.
Oh? She's certainly enjoying herself a lot more now than earlier. Might have to make some time for her later.
I've never reached 100 Affection with someone so I was curious as to what it would do. The Rep/Aff system does tend to leave an effect on ones psychological perception of me. Weiss is halfway through and she's obsessed with me.
Needless to say, feeling her shapely breasts squeezing onto my back turned out to be more enjoyable than I first thought. For the first time, I felt hot in my clothes, and then my pants grew tight.
I looked down at my groin. Oh, so this is what being horny felt like. It was the first time my penis had grown without any kind of forced external stimuli. Namely Weiss and her strokes.
My second shot was way off target but it had managed to hit something. The tree that the arrow buried itself into was about a few 100 yards away from where I planned my mark.
Through guidance of a teacher the Skill [Archery Proficiency] has been received.
Did I really just get hot and bothered enough to miss my shot? Sadly, I did. And I've never felt more disappointed in myself.
At least this mistake can be remedied. General Ironwood and Slayer are only arriving in a few hours, and I'm sure Weiss would jump at the chance to ruin me once more.
I sigh. The things I do for power.
Jaina
"I'm coming in."
The first thing Jaina spotted whilst walking into Slayer's office was the fact that for the first time in a while, her nose was buried in her scroll.
One of the information officers of her Shadow Company stood beside her desk, watching Slayer until he turned and spotted her.
"Major." He called. Tilting his head towards Jaina. Slayer, in one motion, tapped on her scroll, pulled out a shelf then placed the scroll inside before shutting it. "Good work." Slayer thanked, facing the officer.
The officer in question had only answered her with a nod. He left the office soon after, not even looking back at Slayer with a quickness like he got caught doing something wrong.
Jaina turned to Slayer. "It's odd of you to be so focused in what happens in a scroll." She commented.
Slayer stayed silent, blinking the closer Jaina got to her desk. "I didn't think we had anything to do today Jaina."
"You'd be right, we don't. I, however have to head to the Schnee Manor for a few days on errands. More so for Jacques and to follow up on the things we found on their field the other day." Jaina explained. Honestly, she had already determined the situation to have been caused by Grimm. Visiting for a few days remained a formality for the inevitable attack.
"I see. Will you be seeing Winter's younger sister?" Slayer questioned.
"Yes. Naturally I will." Jaina answered. Strange. She was being a bit inquisitive at the moment, Slayer tended not to ask too many questions.
Jaina spotted her packing some of the documents spread on the desk into their resident cupboards. Before Jaina could retort, she spotted the striking crimson eyes of hers, staring at her with such resolute determination.
"I'm coming with you. Take me there."
Odd, she didn't seem that interested in her the other day, nor the time of the party. Why the sudden interest? Jaina had questioned those eyes of hers, how they shone with such unerring desire. As hard as it was for Jaina to fathom, Slayer wanted something there.
Jaina found it hard to believe, but the resident Titan Slayer had been acting a little different since they came back from West Atlas last week. It wasn't often that she was this focused on a scroll, even less so does she make use of the information officers in her Organization. Despite having them on hand, Slayer usually deals with the issues of collateral damage and political might herself.
What was she searching for? Jaina didn't know. But what harm could come from her bringing along the Titan Slayer? She was following up on something that she had suggested in the first place. Knowing how rare it was for her to show any kind of interest in anything, Jaina had decided to indulge her just this once. As her handler, she won't deny the much needed assistance if the issues in the Schnee Manor turned out to be more than just a random skirmish.
"We'll be staying there for a couple of days." Jaina stated. Slayer simply looked at her, picked up her notebook from the desk and slipped it inside her pocket.
"That's fine with me." She answered.
"I'll drop you at the apartment and help you get ready, we're only expected there in a hour anyways. So you may take your time—"
Jaina had barely gotten to finish her sentence before Slayer walked right past her, striding right outside the office. Her heels clicked faster on the ground than Jaina's guns could fire, the syncopated pitter patter made it seem like she was running, but Jaina doubted that heavily.
Slayer was certainly in a hurry. Not that Jaina had minded. She was all for getting this done quickly before things could escalate.
Whitley
Whitley had never felt more strange in his own home than now. He felt like a visitor, and that he wasn't welcome by anyone.
The first time he's seen his older sister in weeks, opposite him on the dinner table. Breakfast had never been more awkward.
He tried to make conversation, but Weiss remained silent. Her eyes continued to dart over to her scroll, every so often cracking a smile, and then a scowl on repeat. Like the repeating tune of a broken record.
"So how was your day?" Whitley asked.
Silence.
Weiss stopped looking at her scroll once in a while, enough for Whitley to hear the silver utensils hitting ceramic plating, but Weiss didn't answer, she didn't so much as look at him. As though she had already registered that there was no one in front of her.
Expecting this treatment didn't stop his heart from feeling the pain. But it's fine, he deserved this.
For the past week, he had been questioning what exactly went wrong in that party. What had made her run from like he was some sort of monster?
Perhaps he was, and all Weiss had did that night was reveal the notion that Whitley himself was too afraid to accept. Fear for her, fear for what she might think of him.
Well, it's too late now. Whitley was already a monster in her eyes, perhaps even less so. He could see it in her eyes while she looked down at her scroll, in the way she ignores him even as she finishes her meal.
He means nothing to her anymore.
"Weiss—"
She darted up from her chair and swiftly packed her dish in her hand. "Give my regards to the chef. " She told. Her eyes piercing through to him before walking towards a servant, handing him the dish and walking away.
Whitley's heart seized tightly as he immediately stood from his chair and darted straight his sister. "Weiss, wait!" He called.
It might've been his imagination but Whitley could've seen the tempo in Weiss's stride speed up sharply. Forcing Whitley to resort to jogging, damn near sprinting to catch up to her and pin her to a wall in the empty hallway.
The position they were in can be easily misunderstood, and leave one feeling irritable. He existed in Weiss's eyes again, although her disgusted gaze made Whitley wish he were dead.
It may have not been the ideal way to keep her from leaving, but Weiss was faster and stronger than him. And this was the only way he knew of to get her to talk.
"Weiss…please just talk to me." Whitley desperately begged.
"I don't have anything to say to you."
Her tone was cold. Colder than before, before the Mercedes and even the convo in the medic center. Whitley knew that Weiss could see the despair plastered on his face. He knew it by how her expression scrunched up.
He must look pathetic. He believed it, so Whitley couldn't even imagine what he must've looked like to Weiss. He cradled his head onto her waist as an attempt to hide away, yet his arms remained clinging frantically to her arms.
Whitley could feel something slide down his cheek, and as he heard the drop hit the ground, he noticed that he was crying. And he couldn't stop.
He thought back to the party, to what they did inside the bathroom. His lips quivered, with a similar throbbing to the phantom motions of Weiss's very own hands caressing his throat.
If he closed his eyes, Whitley could still see the vestiges of her over him. Her naked body wrapped in velvet sheets, and her one eye, glistening like a faded diamond amidst the paradox of her bloody bandaged eye.
Whitley swallowed bile as he lowered one of his hands and looked at it. His heart began pounding, a very similar tune of anxiety. Seeping in like the crawling chaos into their world.
With shaky breath and a body that shivered the same. With a terror of knowing the answer to the question he was about to ask, he breathed. In and out. Keeping his head low.
"Does my touch…really disgust you?" He asked.
At her silence, he lifted his head up and met with her shadowed eyes. His heart beating faster and faster as he got closer to her. Her smell, both of frozen berries and pollen. Her lips, smooth, pale and loosely shut.
He remembered the years past. Younger him, younger her. Those pale lips were on his very own, draining him of his breath and driving him insane. The wild beating of his heart of that time were nothing but embers of a moment rapidly fading, yet he stubbornly clung to.
Weiss…
That moment was sickening for most, and no doubt for Weiss too. Not even Whitley could ignore the disgust, the immorality of what they had done.
He should stop, he should've long stopped. The sneaking glances, the heart-throbbing desire of reduced distance. The disillusion of Weiss beneath him in the sheets, cast by one of many slaves he ventured and bedded.
It was a sickness, a sickness they were both afflicted by. A sickness only one tried to cure while the other sank deeper into the immoral dreams of the past. Craved it, desired it.
Whitley felt a coldness in both his wrists, and slowly they were pried and pushed off. He froze, staring at his hands, still and now trembling with something akin to anxiety.
Whitley looked up, wide eyed with emotion akin to immeasurable pain, then numbness.
He asked one question. "Why?"
"It's because it does, Whitley." Weiss answered, her tone still as her voice monotone.
"It does disgust me."
Arhen
It's been quite a while since I've been to the servant quarters of the Manor. Normally Weiss has me sleeping in her room after sex, and obviously I preferred that to resting here.
However, this was the only place I could think of that had some sort of storage for my clothes, including the one Willow had given me.
The general will be here in a matter of an hour to about 40 minutes. So here I am, getting dressed to accompany Willow to the dining room.
The cold air of the room was chilling on my skin, part of me thought that changing in here was a terrible idea because of this but it would take far longer to make all the way to Weiss's room in the center wing to change when Willow and I came from the garage in the east wing.
In short, the room was closer.
The pants were on, with a pair of black socks. I wanted to wear the shoes next but I was getting sick of the cold air and was about to put on the shirt before I heard the door to the room creaked.
I didn't care to turn, honestly, I thought it was just the wind that picked up. But then it clicked. And doors in this Manor only do so when they are closed.
I spotted Weiss holding the door knob when I turned around. A lesser man would've wondered what she needed from the servant quarters, a greater one would've noticed that she had it closed, and given by how her wrists had twisted a little, locked.
Whatever she needed here, Weiss definitely didn't want it getting out this room. Not like I didn't know what she had wanted, nor what she locked the room for. "Weiss? Is there something you need—-"
She was silent, all the way from when she opened the door, walked up to me and furiously thrust her lips into mine. The force of it nearly threw my head back. And Weiss didn't relent, slipping in her wet tougue moments after kissing me.
Weiss had rarely parted for breath during this kiss. And in the seconds she did, she went back even harder.
I tried to tap my hand on her shoulder to try and get her to let me breath, but Weiss only got more aggressive, latching on to the back of my head and the back of my neck. She stepped forward and started pushing me back, right up until I felt my back slam hard into the wall with a bang.
Weiss parted from the kiss and bore me a heated amorous stare with her flushed face. Her eyes spoke what she really wanted, but she took my hand and placed it below, just under her skirt and over her soaked panties.
She breathed one phrase while she looked at me. "Get these off." Her other hand landed on my shoulder gently, but pushed me down with a certain force.
I knelt down to her legs and pulled her panties down, Weiss kept her hands on my shoulders, as though she wanted me to stay down there. It certainly didn't take her voicing it out for me to know what she wanted me to do.
I snaked my hands around Weiss legs, holding onto her knees. Weiss hands cradled past my neck and held the back of my head, she guided me to her wet cunt and as soon as I stuck my tougue out, she shoved me in there.
"Aah ~~!"
Her juices that ran down her leg tasted like nothing, but the smell of her snatch reminded me of pollen and frozen berries. Her thighs were warm and they instinctively shivered at my touch.
The harder I licked the more she tried to thrash around and pulled my head closer. She let out a huge moan as she orgasmed more and more of her cum began dripping to the floor and alongside her long leg.
She wasn't a squirter. That made me relax a bit, servant or not I didn't feel like getting sprayed in the face while doing this.
Weiss came but kept my head pressed beneath her thighs. Suddenly, she pushed me back until I was laying flat on the ground.
Before I had the chance to collect myself from the impact of the fall, Weiss walked and stepped over my head and hovered over me.
Her hands frantically clinged to my skull as she sat on my face and rocked her hips back and forth, every so often speeding up and getting more aggressive with her motions.
"Ah~Arhen~! Oh god~!" Weiss moaned wildly as she cradled my head and rode my face hard enough for my skull to start continuously hitting the cold floor.
I didn't mind the roughness but my head was starting to hurt and my tougue was getting tired.
Thankfully I didn't have to wait for long, with how hard she was using my head to fuck herself, my tougue could feel her folds repeatedly contract and more of her juices sprayed out. I was close enough to her pussy that some of the juices dripped into my mouth.
Weiss gasped, out of breath and twitching. Her tougue hung out at her side and because of that, she had a bit of drool. I could only imagine the look on everyone's face if they managed to see Weiss, who always looked frozen spot a face as though she had been fucked stupid.
She must've been stressed and pent up if just this was enough to make her look like that. Or maybe it was [Sexual Proficiency] and the ease of performing cunniligus through it.
~•~
It took some time but I had managed to get dressed. Weiss had come to when I was starting to fix my jacket.
By the time I was done, she was just starting to put her panties back on with a pad, sliding it up and fastening it.
"Madam Willow asked me to accompany her to meet the guests Weiss. I hope you won't mind." I notified, fastening my sleeves and turning to her.
"I don't. I'm personally aiming to talk to the Titan Slayer for a bit." Weiss acknowledged.
"Hm? She'll be arriving along with the general?"
Weiss walked towards the basin, drew some water and wiped her face with it. "Staying over. And yes, normally she comes along when the General does these runs." She answered.
This confirms that the Titan Slayer will be here. And better yet staying for a few. Although I don't have a clue as to whether she'll be here overnight or for a few days, but it would give me ample time to study her regardless.
"I see."
I heard Weiss's footsteps behind me, and felt her hand slid up my cheek and gently pull me to her lips. It was a gentle smooch, a far cry from the rough kisses in the beginning.
This was oddly surprising for Weiss, I was expecting a second round but she just parted and gave me a loving smile. "You make me feel so much better Arhen, so much more alive." She admitted.
A sudden confession? Weiss's dependency on me was growing nicely day by day. With the way she was acting during sex, she's definitely obsessed. It won't be long until she reaches 100 affection, and I'm curious as to what I'll receive.
She'd been waiting for a response for a while, I better respond in kind. Placing my hand on hers, I gave her bashful smile and made sure to lower my eyelids. "I see. I'm glad I could be of use to you, Weiss."
Character Matrix-[Weiss Schnee]-Rank Up! [Level 3]
+27 Affection with [Weiss Schnee] for pleasuring her and accepting her love. [80/100]
She had a dangerous look in her eyes the moment I said that. Looking onto me with utter adoration.
Her body seemed to shake just by holding onto me. As she left the room in relative silence, except for the slow clicking of the door opening and closing.
Even as she left, I could fathom nor forget the eerieness I felt when looking at her eyes while she stared.
I blinked. That look of her's was definitely weird, and I can't help but feel weary of it.
That didn't mean that I was unnerved by it. The notion itself was just ridiculous.
Jaina
13:00 AM
Slayer had been inside the apartment for a good while now. 15 minutes since they've left the office.
For a good minute, Jaina had been debating between if she should go there herself or contemplate the fact that the silent Major actually had more stuff than her expression gave the impression off.
She heard a door close and heavy steps down the metal staircase of a nearby alleyway. Slayer walked down and towards the glossy black Mercedes accompanied by a convoy of black sedans and humvees.
Some of the members of Shadow Company stood outside their transport and watched as Slayer walked down to the center car with a red duffle bag in her hand.
They saluted her as she passed the vehicles straight towards Jaina's car. Each of them greeting her by name and the title Major.
She was wearing her thin black gloves this time, with a long-sleeved white t-shirt beneath her maroon jacket. Up close, the black tie she wore with the shirt looked a bit skew, it was odd to her so Jaina felt like going up to her to fix it. Luckily Slayer chose to walk towards her car, and put her duffle bag in the trunk.
Jaina smiled as she took a quick look at Slayer and spotted a small notebook sticking out the pocket of her maroon jacket. "Planning to draw?" She questioned.
Slayer blinked. "I apologize for taking a while." She answered in monotone.
Jaina noticed that her question just flew over Slayer's head. It was a simple question so it was not like Jaina had minded her skipping the question, it was oddly refreshing to see her mind this muddled. The Titan Slayer was oddly straight laced and usually respond to her questions quickly.
"It's fine." Jaina stated. "Your convoy has arrived, but was it really nessesary for this?"
She was referring to the actual convoy and how it seemed unnatural for a trip through to the Schnee Manor. Slayer herself looked like she was actually thinking about the implications of this, placing a gloved finger under her chin.
"It's not, but they were suddenly just there. Maybe they were leaving themselves and they had decided to accompany me." Slayer reasoned, walking towards the car and getting inside.
Without delaying, Jaina got into the driver seat and started the car into a drive.
The terrain was smooth from East Atlas where Slayer's apartment laid right through to West Atlas. It was a surprisingly warm temperature for Atlas despite it snowing last night.
The interior of the car was silent, safe for Slayer who had her attention on a scroll in her lap. She was texting someone. And Jaina's own scroll didn't ring. It might've been the Information Officer she was talking to earlier today, assuming no one outside the Shadow Company black cells had a way to contact her.
Jaina counted the trip took close to 16 minutes after entering West Atlas for the convoy to stop right outside of the gates to the Schnee Manor.
The homonuculi at the gates gave the oncoming vehicles a salute as they drove past. Jaina gave a glancing look to Slayer, she was seated in an odd position with one of her legs resting on her knee.
And what's more, she stared at the ivory door to the Manor with intense focus and, a twinge of excitement.
Jaina must've read her wrong, and even as she wiped her eyes to clear them Slayer sat with the exact monotone look she gave both the Grimm and the people who associate with her.
"We're here." Slayer stated. Dropping her one leg to the floor.
Jaina supposed that the difference in Slayer's aura was a subsidiary effect of the change in scenery. She was more talkative that time at the party as well.
For now, all Jaina could do was watch Slayer and confirm her suspicions. Whatever those may be, and whatever the result must entail.
Arhen
"It looks as though the guests have arrived." Looking out the window and spotting the trail of numerous black cars parked outside the front of the Manor, personally I find the gesture pretty excessive.
The Titan Slayer didn't seem like the sort to put on a show. Maybe this was a courtesy befitting of the General that accompanied her.
I looked away from the window and scanned the library for Willow. To my surprise, it was empty and Willow was no where to be found.
My gaze turned towards the staircase leading to the second floor of the library. This was as great an opportunity as I was going to get to explore that area.
I immediately strode towards the staircase and ascended to the second floor. My eyes trailed across all the books in the shelves, most of which seemed like story books.
My eyes caught onto one, and I couldn't help but get a little excited.
Class Manual - [Metamorphosis] by Atsushi Nakajima.
The front of the book had a picture of a white tiger with blue eyes, sitting beneath the moonlight. The cover itself was blue and when I turned it around it was blank.
This was a normal book to most people, perhaps even to Willow if she kept something like this here instead of under lock and key. Class Manuals are only useful to gamers and or systems if nessesary.
Class Manuals display Hidden Classes if the prerequisites to activate them are met, usually that means getting the Primary Class that they herald over to Level 50.
The Primary Class that's needed is usually shown at the back, which by looking at the class manual I have in my hands now had a transparent picture of a buff demon with two horns.
It seems like I need the [Berserker] Class to be able to gain the hidden class from this.
Another special thing about the class manual, is that maxing out the class requires full understanding of the entity it represents. Most of which are legendary figures of the past or creatures from myth.
Maxing out the class presented by a class manual grants the user the signature ability of the entity the manual represents. This is why the character matrix is so important, as it measures how well I understand the person before me.
I wasn't planning on equipping the [Berserker] class, and normally it would be a terrible choice for gamers. And especially me with my Gamer's Mind being so low, but I couldn't deny the power I'll receive if my mind is stronger than the madness that follows.
Core emotions and indecision are what lead to madness, I have none, and therefore insanity isn't something that I can experience.
I'll need to find someone with the [Berserker] class to learn from or charm. Perhaps I can be taught the class basics when more options on the console get fixed like [System Scan].
I narrowed my eyes at the book. For now, I need a way to store it until I can get the Berserker class, and grind it to 50.
Willow came back into the library while I was still on the top floor. Before I could hide away, she looked around and spotted me.
"Arhen?"
She didn't look mad or even annoyed at my presence on the second floor. "Willow, there you are." I said, placing the Class Manual on a table nearby.
"What's wrong?" Willow questioned.
Looking her in the eyes, I started jogging down the staircase. "I was actually looking for you, I was wondering where you were." I lied. Since the guests have arrived, she'll perceive it as me looking to accompany her there.
Willow stared at me and for a moment I thought she had me made, I flinched when she narrowed her eyes and stood from her wheelchair once again, making her way towards me.
I was sneakily preparing an [Ice Seed] behind my back and accidentally froze the desk slightly, but Willow just smiled, grabbed hold of my collar and unbuttoned it.
The air around her changed the moment she did. Her hands clenched my collar as she looked at my neck with her eyes shrinking with barely restrained anger. "Arhen…who did this?" She questioned, her voice shaky and cold.
She didn't look at my face, else she would've seen the confusion of my face that I've failed to restrain. I willed away the Ice Seed the moment that the notion of what she was looking at clicked in my mind.
Of course Weiss was going to leave a mark with how rough she's been with me. The red handprint on my neck must've been from last night.
Willow's own hand went to my neck, unlike Weiss, her hand was soft and smooth. Her hand slid over the mark as though it had made my neck fragile, like she can break it with a single touch. "Who did this to you?" Willow asked.
No matter what, Willow cannot know that Weiss was the one who did this to me. She cannot know of Weiss's true nature, if she does, Willow wouldn't hesitate to take me away from her, and eventually the need she has for me would dwindle.
Or perhaps even worse, she could seek out another outlet for her control. That's unacceptable.
"It doesn't matter." I said, I need to get Willow to drop this. She's getting into dangerous territory.
"It doesn't…what do you mean it doesn't matter!?" Willow questioned, her voice slowly raising in volume.
Noticing how frantic this was making her, I don't think that Willow is going to accept my own feelings of the matter as answer enough.
I needed a scapegoat and I was racking my brain trying to find one. "I don't care what is done to my body. Whether they hurt it or destroy it, it's not as though I was ever human in the first place." I said. I couldn't stay silent for long, so I had to say anything to try and delay her finding out.
"But Arhen! You are human, you talk like one, walk like one, and in the same way, you have worth!" Willow preached.
"I don't, Willow."
Willow drew back from me, eyes wide from shock and sadness. Like she didn't want to contemplate what I just said. "I'm made, manufactured. I'm have no worth as a human, and I don't know what I did to make you see otherwise, but it's the truth as I see." I continued.
I drew an curved eyebrow when I looked at how bad she was taking my words. I didn't understand why she was acting like this over such a trivial thing, perhaps it's trivial to me and not to her who obviously grew attached to me and got told her feelings are as meaningless as falling for your reflection.
I was getting close to figuring it out, I could tell. But Willow placed her hands to her head and started pulling against her hair, swaying side to side as if possessed.
"That's not possible Arhen. If you can't see your worth, how can you see mine? As a useless cripple of a woman?" Willow asked, her bangs shadowing her eyes as a stream of tears began to fall.
She couldn't look me in the eyes, staring at the floor as she continued to mutter the words 'useless' as if some kind of mantra.
Willow must've been more emotionally damaged than I first realized. Willow herself is far from being useless. If no one else realizes this, than at least I can attest to that fact, as the only one in this world that can see ones true strength.
She looks put together and melancholic, probably was before I met her. Her affection for me caused her to break the moment the notion that even the emotion she so rarely feels is meaningless. She's broken, and so very easy to mold.
I walked towards her, and eloped her in a gentle and tight hug. She stiffened, clearly not expecting such a gesture, but she easily clung to me although her body was still shaking.
This malleable form of hers was made by a mistake of mine. I hadn't intended to put her in a state like this, but sometimes I'm frightened by my own genius.
I smiled. There has been someone I've been wanting to get rid of, just in case they pose a threat to future plans. "It's an Overseer, he's probably down at the plantation." I said.
Willow held onto my arm and looked into my eyes, pupils shrinked in a maddened determination. She said one phrase, with such coldness that it had even managed make me weary. "Which one…?"
I chuckled. Oh me, what have I done?
Perhaps Willow might've suspected that I was lying, if she was able to think straight. I don't blame her, I might've looked quite scary with how hard I have been smirking.
I finally remembered the bastard that mocked me when I first came to the mine. I couldn't see well because of the dark, but it's the same one who told me to get to Ore Vein 36.
"Tell me, Arhen." Willow said, looking at my eyes. She must've spotted my bloodlust, because she didn't even bother to mince words when she talked to me.
"Who do you want dead?" Willow asked.
I cupped my hand over her chin, and gently pulled her over to my lips. The kiss only remained in the timeless moment, but when I pulled away, the look in her eyes worsened in intensity.
I chuckled.
" The wolf-morph."
~•~
I'll admit, it's been quite a while since I've seen the fellow slaves of mine. But I don't quite miss the sight, especially when I'm obviously doing quite better.
It was a bit odd that Willow chose to do this now when we barely have enough time for it as is, but she was very insistent on doing this.
The woman herself was silent ever since our talk in the library, even as I continued to push her on the snow, pass the other overseers scanning the fields and the homonuculi managing the crops.
There was next to no one around that'll recognize Willow here. But for me, I spotted a familiar face in the distance, a familiar rat.
I stopped and stepped in front of Willow. "Willow. I'm going to go find out where the morph is." I took her hands and boldly planted a kiss on her forehead.
When I parted, she gave me a big smile and struggled to let go of my hand, but she did. And as I walked into the plantation, she continued to watch me.
I turned from her and stood right next to him. "Faceman." I called.
The resident ratman flinched and raised his head. "You're here?" He questioned.
"Why are you so confused?"
He scanned my attire and seemed to want to look anywhere but my face. "I just didn't expect for you to be here." Faceman admitted, dropping the pickaxe into the snow as he backed away a bit.
"With her…" he added, looking towards Willow.
I gave him a black stare as I look around the plantation and notice that almost every slave in the plantation was looking at me right now.
I turned back to him. "You seem a bit jumpy Faceman. Something I should know about?" I goaded. This entire mood screamed suspicious, and I did have a clue as to what they were planning that they didn't want me and definitely not the Schnee Family to discover.
"No, there's nothing…"
I sighed at the obvious lie. Digging into my pockets and pulling out a few hundred lien. "Tell me where the Wolf Morph is." I said.
Faceman narrowed his eyes at the money as I placed it into his hands. "I'm able to pay you more efficiently now compared to the mine. And besides…" I pulled him closer into a whisper. "The wolf morph is in your way, isn't he?"
The way his eyes had widened at my accusation was comical. I've guessed right. Faceman was close to asking me how I knew, but he stayed silent after a few minutes. "The Titan Slayer and the General are both here."
He grimaced. "Shit."
"I don't particularly care for what you and the others slaves do, Faceman." I started. "It's no grievance of mine."
He gave me a look. "You're not getting involved then?"
"I'm not. But remember how we play this sort of game Faceman. I'm sure you do, I was sure ever since the moment I approached you in the mine. You'll do what you need to do to survive this game, and come out with your life." I patted his shoulder. "But remember Faceman, I have my own battle to fight, and if you lose, I'll do what I have to as well."
For the sake of our goals to be realized, one must be willing to lie, and stain their hands with blood. I know this, and Faceman understands this as well. We'll both try our hardest to ensure that the blood spilt isn't ours.
By any means, including our own.
"He's in the barn." Faceman pocketed the money. "You'll find it if you go straight then head to the left. Careful, your acquaintance might not like what you'll find there." He warned.
I nodded and walked away from him, all the way back to Willow. She looked to me as if she wanted to hear the results of my talk with him. I kept most of the details to a minimum, only telling her what I got from him on a need to know basis.
"He's inside the barn."
Willow instinctively looked towards the north-west, not even needing to hear the directions from me.
It didn't take even longer than 5 or so minutes for us to come across and stand in front of a giant red wooden door. She looked to me once again with a black expression, as though gauging if I truly wanted to see what she was going to do to him.
I gave her a small nod of assurance, then she turned to a homonuculi guarding the barn and she motioned to the door.
"Open it." She ordered.
I regretting not holding my nose the moment the door opened. My nose was filled with the gut-churning stench of rotten fish constantly hitting my senses in pangs like walking through a microwave.
The sound of discorded cries, moans and skin slapping carried throughout the barn. Overseers and slaves alike, rutting into lines upon likes of women restrained in various ways to pillories.
The way they repeatedly slammed home into the retrained women, came inside, and pulled out only for another to take their place seemed similar to bathroom of sexual urges.
I finally understand the nature of the white stain that I was about to step on. Frankly, I should be disgusted but I was slightly enamored by how a human could handle this much of a discharge.
The very person we were looking for was busy enjoying himself at the very end of the room. I felt a bit unnerved taking Willow through the sexual chaos of this room, but she urged me to keep going.
She held up her hand when we were only a few steps away from the Wolf-morph. Poor thing was balls deep inside a pale ass, without even knowing that Willow had stood from her wheelchair and began a silent walk towards him.
Her steps were like bells tolling on the unknowing dog, as she slowly brandished a bright silver revolver, barrel longer and thicker than Weiss's own, from seemingly out of nowhere, and aimed the long barrel at the back of the wolf-morph's head.
She gave a cold stare as if already looking at a dead man. There were no words of warnings nor gutteral insults, she only narrowed her eyes and pulled the trigger.
As the loud crack of her revolver sounded through the barn, everything stood still and silent. Watching the now lifeless corpse of the wolf-morph drop to the floor was similar to watching a movie, how chucks of his skull and drops of red blood spilled on Willow's leggings and the hem of her blue dress.
The whole barn was silent, everyone that was brave enough to remain in the barn was now watching her. Flinching at every move she made towards me.
She placed a hand on her own cheek, oddly, the same hand that was holding the gun. The barrel was still smoking, and the sharp pang of metal and gunpowder ripped ferociously through the stench of liquid sex.
Willow's eyes shown with a madness I couldn't yet decipher the depth of. A madness for me.
A madness that makes one willing to kill for me.
I definitely shouldn't let her near Weiss, that could get bloody. Although loving someone this much only after knowing them for a week is a bit much, I certainly couldn't fathom the depths of her mind, nor the loneliness it suffered for all this time, never being able to move.
I brought her into my embrace, soft, and warm. For the longest while we just stood there in comfortable silence, watching the headless corpse of the wolf-morph.
Ah, the whims of karma. I looked down at Willow. "You are worth everything to me, Willow. Even though I'm not worth anything myself." I lied.
What Willow wanted more than anything was to be of worth to someone, broken as she is. Perhaps the chase for that worthiness is what made her broken in the first place, and she sadly still clings to that very notion.
Oh well, if no one wants her, then I'll gladly be the one to give her worth.
Character Matrix-[Willow Schnee]-Rank Up! [Level EX]
Rank EX achieved —- Matrix Skill [Character Bookmark] may now be used.
+100 Affection with [Willow Schnee] for showing she has worth, despite being broken. [100/100]
Affection Locked.
Perk [Blessings of Winter] has been received for 100 Affection with [Willow Schnee]
Character Matrix—-[Willow Schnee] [Level EX]-[Blessings of Winter] Unique Skill Experience Bonus.
Perk [Blessings of Winter] has evolved into Unique Skill [Frostmourne]
It's not like she hasn't decided to give everything to me regardless.
Jaina
The Schnee's seemed to have their heads on straight. Or at the very least that's the impression their servants who had set the desks have given her.
Jaina could recall how swiftly Slayer's and her bags were taken to accommodating rooms. She could only guess that the family themselves would guide them to their rooms later.
Said family sat either beside or opposite her on the white marble dinner table. Save for the oldest, middle child and the matriarch. Two of which she assumed that they won't leave their seats empty for long.
Jacques took place at the head as usual. Making sure all seven of the wine glasses displayed atop satin sheets of royal blue were filled until the transparent glass turned opaque with red.
For the moments past, Jaina's eyes continued to rest on Slayer, as if beginning a coordinated effort into determining what she was waiting for. She looked bored now, not even bothering to take up the wine glass with her gloved hands.
Slayer stared into the glass with the same modicum of disinterest she would show to the Titans, Grimm and strangers.
Looking across from her own glass, her eyes landed on Weiss, twirling her glass with equal amounts irritation as Slayer's boredom. Finally, a gruff cough cut through the silence of the room, as everyone's eyes bore on Jacques.
He stood from his seat and took up his wine glass. Jaina followed as courtesy, lifting up her own. She honestly didn't think this much was nessesary for lunch, and it looked as though all the others except the host thought the same.
"As the Patriarch of the Schnee's. And CEO of the Schnee Dust Company—" Jacques turned to Jaina and Slayer. "I would like to take this opportunity to welcome General Ironwood and her associate, the ever luminous Titan Slayer, as guests to our humble abode."
Jacques did a little bow, and Jaina was thankful for the opportune moment to break the impassiveness of her facial gesture. She felt like reeling back the moment her name left his lips, for some reason, the small man unnerved her.
She eyed Slayer, expecting to see the same expression. Quite possibly even worse as Jacques was so very clearly trying to flatter her. Yet her face remained still, as though this were another formality she has to go through.
Jaina had honestly envied Slayer's legendary poker face. How often would she have no need to desperately cling to moments like these for reliefs.
She watched as Slayer looked at Jacques, her eyes losing the impassiveness from earlier and looking over him with a modicum of concentration. She lifted her wine glass towards him and gave a small nod.
"We are grateful. You have my thanks Patriarch." Slayer thanked as she sat back down on her chair. The others followed suit, as Slayer to Jaina's surprise had led the greeting.
The event itself carried on with the matriarch missing. To Jaina it didn't seem as though the family thought much of her absence, even after they have determined how dangerous their lands are.
It was a couple of minutes of small talk, before Slayer grew remarkably quiet. Usually, Jaina could hear her fiddle in her seat or shift her jacket. But now she stared aimlessly, ignoring even Jacques attempts of coercion. She was alive enough to face the people talking to her, but usually motioned towards some emissary in the room with her to answer, unless she had no choice but to.
Weiss looked at Slayer with her head resting on her elevated arm. "So, if you don't mind me asking. What exactly is Shadow Company?"
Slayer looked up at one of the officials that accompanied her, said official coughed silently as though she had prepared for such an occasion. "In a nutshell miss, we are a splinter cell formed by the government under the leadership of madam Titan Slayer here."
"Our true mission statement is at most classified. But the general consensus is to keep the peace, and prevent another Black Christmas from occurring by any means." She explained.
"Why revolve around the Titan Slayer then? Your goal seems to match that of the military." Weiss asked, sitting up straight on the table.
Before the official could answer, Slayer looked at Weiss and spoke out.
"Authority." She answered.
Jaina could tell that Slayer's answer had Weiss stumped, but for those in lieu with the military, and or those that conspire and ponder, the answer should come simply.
The Titans are the greatest threat to humanity on Remnant. The Government likes to make a big showing of Shadow Company being drafted to Atlas. They forget that in truth, their cells are active in all kingdoms apart from Menagerie.
In response to being outright hostile to humans, not one of the governments willing to walk on that razor-thin thread that tensions between them made. Jaina supposed that she couldn't really blame them, Black Christmas hit the Faunus hard. And the Atleasian Government, including their citizens didn't seem to have a leniency on their dehumanization and racism even during this time.
This fact gave weight to Slayer's warning from weeks ago, that this segregation would eventually spiral into an all out war. A war that Atlas would definitely end up winning, but with losses they can't accept.
Not while they were the vanguard of this war with the Grimm.
The officer that stood behind her, in her own set of maroon uniform stepped a bit forward. "The government cannot deny how much the world depends on the Major to fight back the Titans. It's no mere assumption to say that without her, Atlas and the other kingdoms would be flattened within a single night." She elaborated.
Jaina turned to Weiss. "Shadow Company is a private military, and their goal differs to that of the military and the government. They know this and give them clearance as long as their organization handles the attacks themselves." She added.
"Naturally, there's still a lot of red tape for the sake of maintaining the power balance between the Military and SC. So it's not like they get away with anything."
Weiss eyebrows curved. "A PMO with the authority over the government?"
Even as the question drew silence, the obvious answer loomed in the air though quick glances to each other and resolved stares at Slayer.
She was just that important.
Weiss drew back with an expected glance at Slayer. Her gaze seemed like an analysis, trying to determine the exact nature of the woman sitting before her. Jaina implored her to try, calling her a mystery was an understatement. And her mind was one of seven wonders, all of which were absent of Jaina's own.
The noise of footsteps and the slight squeaking of a wheelchair drew Jaina's eyes. The matriarch was approaching the table, sitting on a silver wheelchair while a servant pushed her.
Most of the people didn't really have much of a reaction to her approach, but Jaina supposed that a majority couldn't see the remnant wisp of bloodthirst slowly ebbing away from her. She hid it well from others, almost like how shadows hid from the morning dew.
But she couldn't hide from her. Neither could she. Her eyes were on Jaina just as much as her own were on the matriarch, she knew, and still smiled as she took her seat.
The malice vanished the moment she took her seat beside Jacques. "I apologize for my tardiness." She said.
"Willow." Jacques called. "Where exactly were you?"
Willow called over the servant that pushed her wheelchair. The servant himself looked far different than the others Jaina had seen. He looked immaculate, despite how his brown hair clashed with his emerald eyes.
"We were just by the plantation checking in." Willow answered, looking at Jacques then back at the servant. She scanned the room until her eyes landed on the single empty chair on the table.
"That chair is free is it not?" Willow asked. The question had everyone in either shock or confusion, the servant himself also seemed surprised. That chair was meant for Winter, who obviously was not amongst them at the moment. But it didn't take knowing the family for as long as Jaina did to see that a select few were a but uncomfortable with the question.
Jacques couldn't stop glaring at the servant, who remained just as blank-faced as Slayer while staring back. Willow called the slave back. "Arhen, you may sit there." She said, pointing at the empty chair.
The servant himself walked silently towards the chair and sat on it despite the hosts silent protest.
Jacques obviously looked infuriated by this turn out, but didn't say a thing. At the very least not in front of Jaina and Slayer. He was silenced by a glare from her. Perhaps he was reeled back in surprise, obviously etched onto his face, but he remained silent for the rest of the event. Ever so often sneaking glances at the slave sitting on the hair.
Weiss herself was impassive, staring only at the servant. He stared back and she cracked open a smile. Jaina realized and sighed a bit, a small smile of her own threatening to spill.
Adorable, she was charmed by the servant. Or perhaps by this little show that occurred in the past minute. It made for a bit of entertainment as time passed.
But as Jaina looked back at Slayer, she noticed something. Ever since the servant had entered the room, Slayer's eyes had never once left his.
And as they sat away from each other, the contest of stares grew more prominent. She eyed the servant and never once blinked. A strange unerring focus, communicated through their eyes.
Whitley
Night time couldn't have come sooner for Whitley. He thanked the stars as soon as he saw the sun begin to fall.
He trudged along in hollow steps, all the way to his room. His view, colorless and gray. So were the steps, the hallway, the door and even those guests he had to sit with at lunch today.
For a while since he opened his door and layed on his bed. Whitley stared at the ceiling, watching how the fan blades rolled round and around.
It almost made him dizzy, but failed. The tic on his heart was still there. He tried to mask his sadness. No, he had to be strong.
But in the end, that too had failed. He really was pathetic, wasn't he? Couldn't even get this simple thing right, although by now that is to be expected from someone like him.
He brought his whole arm and covered his eyes. His body started shivering without the cold. Almost like he was preparing to cry. The darkness brought by his arm allowed him to dream of better days in the past.
He dreamt of the car ride in the Mercedes, the kiss in the bathroom during the after-party, and even of the past, the time she came into his room, her forlorn gaze, shown to him through her one eye, the other covered by a medical patch.
Whitley grit his teeth in shame. Weiss was disgusted by his touch, disgusted by him. He should be angry, and in his defense, he still was. At himself most of all. But he couldn't stop himself from feeling like this.
Whitley didn't even need to look down to know that his hands were going lower. He thought of the room, despite Delta coming in at times. He thought of Weiss, both her scowl and her disgust, and finally the servant she was looking at.
It was only during that event that Whitley understood. And never had Whitley hated someone more than he did at that moment.
He'll deal with that servant soon. Whitley knew that he'd be the unfair one, but he soon found himself no longer caring. More than anything, he desired what they had in the past to resurface between them again.
But as he lifted up his arms to take in the empty room, he felt the needy throb in his crotch and spotted some tissues nearby.
Delta wasn't here right now. She wouldn't know, no one would know. And that's good, even if for now this was the only vestige of Weiss that remained his, pathetic as it may be, he cherished it.
It rather suited him, or more so the him that fell to this point.
His belt buckle loosened, and his hand snaked inside. Latching onto the shaft of his cock as it began to move up and down like a piston, gaining speed over time.
As his heart beat faster, tears began to stream down his face. His breath became shaky through his panting as the stream didn't stop.
He moaned out his sister's name to the discordant mutters of her angelic voice in his mind.
And in the end, despite his tears. That was the only thing he remembered once he fell to the grip of sleep.
Slayer
She couldn't sleep.
By the time she watched the blades of the fan turn for the ninth time, she knew that sleeping was going to be trouble.
She looked to the notebook in her hand, right now, only consisting of a circle and a few lines. Tonight seemed to be one of the nights that she found herself focusing more on words.
Thinking back, the only thing her mind could see was the eminence of those emerald eyes returning her stare. The same as before. Those eyes and the person they were attached to have been on her mind ever since yesterday.
The more questions about him rose in her head, the more empty her head seemed to grow. No, don't think. Repeat.
Repeat.
Slayer sat up on the pillow and stared at the wall just ahead of her dropping her notebook to the side. She raised her hand and her fingers formed a makeshift gun, while she kept her fingers pointed to the wall. Ever so often she'll flick it up like she's firing it.
She continued this motion like a broken record. Repeat.
Slayer repeats until her fingers became her gun, and loud cracks began to sound in her head. On an on even as he gun fires, she repeats the motions until her mind clears, and all her questions fade.
Even then, she still wanted to know. Looking at him was like looking at an approaching storm. It carried some semblance of temporal allure that made it hard to look away, even for her. The longer she stared, the more of him she would see. By no means did anything flutter or pain, and yet he was different. In a way that Slayer herself found it difficult to explain.
She stopped. Freezing her hand in the air. Perhaps she would find him again once more, she has all the time in the world to do so with him being so near. She has questions not meant to be answered by him, but questions regardless. Slayer wasn't supposed to have such things. They were not needed when she fights. And that makes them meaningless.
But, maybe for the first time since she could remember. She wanted to selfishly meet with him again, the servant. And gaze into those emerald eyes once more.
Before all the questions she has, fade once again.
Arhen
I couldn't sleep.
Despite the obvious workout I've gone through with Weiss in her room, I can't shut my eyes. I've watched the rotors on the ceiling spin crystal blades like a fan for a good few minutes now.
Weiss slept peacefully beside me, not even bothering to put her nightwear back on after sex. I envied her, but it wasn't like I was tired. I had a lot on my mind the whole day, Willow's actions at lunch aside.
She knew, the Titan Slayer was waiting for me to come. We both were. From the very moment I walked in with Willow, our eyes locked into each other and never left. It was like a prolonged staring contest trying to psyche out who would be the first to fold. Except, it wasn't.
Our senses locked in on each other's as though the longing had reached its peak. Her gaze made my mind grow numb with small surges, and even thinking about it, now as I lay here, I could feel surges returning, the ringing in my ears growing louder.
I eyed my black servant uniform on the floor, sat up on the bed and began to redress myself. Weiss loves it when I wear my old uniform, I have a certain fondness for it too as my first set of proper clothes in the world.
Looking back at the bed, I felt a little troubled leaving Weiss to sleep alone in that bed. Almost like leaving a job half finished, but I couldn't help myself, I needed some kind of air outside the stench of liquid sex, maybe then I could sleep.
I found it a little odd to hear the echo of my shoes in the hallway but it's to be expected. It was very late into the night, quite possibly reaching high-tide with the moon.
I didn't have a single clue as to where I wished to go. For the first time, I walked around aimlessly through the silent manor, passing the kitchen, the dining room and the grand hall with my hollow steps.
My feet stopped at a familiar large ornate door. The Courtyard.
Personally, I didn't mean to come here once again. Since the system scan failed me here, perhaps I wanted to take a look at the the sight of the city that Atlas hovered over, hidden within the grey musk of clouds. Either way, grasped the handle, turned it, and pushed.
The moment I did, torrents of the chilling air swept through me and the insides of my loose clothes. I heard the wind howl through the empty courtyard, traveling the echos of my strides through the frozen quartz of it's regal grounds.
Instead of walking towards the edge. I traveled to the fountain in the center, which still ran fresh water in droves. The water itself, clean and transparent. Running with such abundance that it's clear torrents formed a makeshift mirror. I didn't spend much time looking at it, I was not at all interested in whether I looked the same way I felt. Instead, I guided my sights upward, taking in the view of the moon. Broken asunder with it's parts scattered in the air like a shattered milky marble.
I breathed in the howling winds chilling breath, peeked at the door far behind me, and the gazebo forward. Something at that moment clicked as I raised my hand to the gazebo.
I had time. It wasn't as though anyone else would be awake at this time, and I didn't get much practice with the [Ice Seed] or the newer skill [Frostmourne].
Let's not even start with the ones I have yet to check since I fought the Grue.
"Skill display, [Frostmourne, [Recarmda]."
[Frostmourne] [Level - 1/100] [Cost - 350Mp/sec]
Description - Namesake of the famous sword that once turned a hero into a Lich King that once dominated the frozen glaciers and winds. Even now through this remnant energy of the blade, it's power still remains.
Passively increases effectiveness of Ice DMG by 60% and the effectiveness of [Frostbite] by 30%.
Passively reduces MP cost by 30% from ice based magic and spells.
[?] - Req - Skill [Frostmourne] Level 50.
[Recarmda] [Level - 1/25] [Cost - 1250 MP] [Duration: 5 Minutes]
Description: Temporarily break the biological limits placed on the human body to bring forth extreme power.
Users HP becomes 1. [HP Regen] is reduced by half for the duration of the skill.
All stats are doubled. Attack power increases by 13%
After skill ends, [HP Regen] is locked for 5 Minutes.
[Frostmourne] seems to be a very powerful method of buffing the attacks on Ice Seed, and reducing the cost. [Recarmda] on the other hand is seemingly something that could theoretically turn the tides of battle, but at the cost of [Constitution] being locked.
It's a trump card that I'm hoping that I don't need to use but I am willing to. Perhaps not at this very moment however.
I looked at my hands and activated [Frostmourne]. The complexion of my dominant hand grew one shade paler as a certain cold aura began to dance around it like wind and dry ice. After a few seconds, I really began to feel the pull on my mana.
I casted [Ice Seed] while Frostmourne was still active, and as it formed in my hand, the calm dance of the wind in my hand grew silent, as a layer of frost began to cover my hand and the wind was absorbed into the Ice Seed.
Firing it into the ground caused a small implosion, and what remained of the place it hit were long ice spikes, hard as solid blocks.
I wanted to fire another but the corner of my eye crept to the door to the courtyard, and saw it smoothly open.
I was racking up excuses and preparing an ice Seed behind my back before I spotted the mop of lavender hair dressed in a maroon uniform, and I was stunned into silence for the first time ever.
The intruder was none other than the Titan Slayer herself.
It was odd, but her movements felt a little lacking when she opened the door. Only for a moment.
We locked eyes and the incandescent stare began once more, with no one around we could've stared all we wanted attempting to figure the other out to no avail.
The echoing rhapsody of her thick heels silenced the howling of the wind, it was as though time itself was slowing to a stop each time she took a step forward.
She paused. Only meters ahead of me, as her eyes trailed me up and down until they landed on mine. I watched as she raised her hand and pulled out a slim sword from the air.
I only saw the glimmer of it's blade before I heard it screeching on the floor, sliding towards my feet.
I looked at the sword, then raised my head to look at Slayer. She kept the empty expression on her lips, but her eyes were clear an no longer lidded. Eying me with what I could describe as a deep wanting, locked behind her stare of focus.
As I bent down and took the sword into my hand, I looked into them once more. She didn't seem to want to strike me down, else I would've already been dead. A small guess arose within me, and as I saw the small vestige of excitement in her eyes when I whipped the sword to my right, I knew that I was correct.
Because truthfully, I desired the same. At that moment.
Slayer flexed out her wrist, and all of a sudden a similar blade appeared in her hand. The way her fingers tensed and shifted at the grip of it suggested that it lacked the familiarity of her usual weapons, as I looked at her, I could tell that the notion definitely would not pose a problem.
For the longest while we stood there, looking at each other, sizing the blades in our hands. Until the wind, the cold and even the feeling of our own heartbeats had faded away.
Slayer took one step, and then vanished.
I brought the pommel of the sword to my left, parrying her attack just as it almost stabbed at my side, Slayer's blade was forced into the air but she still held her grip.
I drove into her side, attempting to slash. She only brought down her blade, and with a harsh clash of sparks, stilled my blade with her counter.
Slayer forced her blade to slide atop mine until both of them spun and their tips nearly stuck to the ground. She then took a heavy step forward, and with a sudden strength, she pushed me back long enough to vanish once more.
For the small second I spent looking at nothing, I was telling myself to move but couldn't bring myself to listen to my gut. The urge grew strong until I jumped back by instinct, barely managing to block a powerful slash to my side.
The force sent me to the ground, skidding on the icy ground until I rolled and stabbed into the floor to regain my footing. Once I did, I held my blade with one hand and closed my eyes.
The sound of metal screeching the floor grew louder until it went silent and I found myself dashing forward with my sword pulled back. I swept against the air and found myself hitting against Slayer's sword.
The longer the dance went, the more I realized that despite the excitement in her eyes. Slayer had never once broke her expression, never once dodged. She was toying with me, obviously.
There was no point in ignoring the obvious gap in fighting that our stats represented, parrying her one attack was enough to send me flying. I didn't need to scan her to realize she was on a whole other world compared to Willow.
But the experience in sword fighting I have may have bridged the gap a bit, not by much. Since I've obviously been out of practice, and has been quite some time since I've fought like this. Through the sounds of clashing metal, and the dulling smell of warm steel, I've long quite realized the lack of my element in this dance, and yet I still find myself enjoying it.
Slayer could've killed me more than 100 times in this dance if it were a real fight. But that is what it was all along, a dance. Between being such as her and I, beings that can only draw understanding from our equal blades.
Perhaps that's what she really desired, and this fight was but a means to an end. She was enjoying it, despite the lack of challenge. Or maybe she deliberately made herself like this for the sake of prolonging this dance.
Suddenly the ground shook in small tremors and I paused to look at the side of the courtyard. Plumes of smoke rose into the air from the distance, shades and embers of burning wood and cackling fire following suit. It was near to where the plantation was. Going by how the numerous tapping of shoes and howling of Grimm sounded in the air it was obvious that the explosion was noticed.
Even as I watched the fields of the plantation burn in glorious embers, something had urged me to look to my side. I see Slayer paused, the side of her porcelain face mirroring the glow from the fire, as her red eyes shown bright. The gleam of her sword sketched by the moon and fires glow as it's very edge held towards me.
Slayer looked annoyed, the same kind of annoyed I'd be if I was interrupted. At this point, I had to hold myself from bursting with entertained laughter.
"You wish to continue this dance?" I questioned, raising an eyebrow. I don't think I was able to hide my amusement from her. And even though she kept silent at my question, her eyes told me everything that I needed.
I smiled. Openly smiled. The grin had threatened to split my face, but I didn't care. It felt similar to how I felt with Jacques, but my heart didn't want to stop beating.
The rest of what I remember dials down to the sound of cries, howls and cackling embers all fading into nothing. With the only thing recognized as sound, were the clashes of our blades. With the sparks of heated metal being the only thing that lights between us.
The light from our sparks reflected of Slayer as though the very tone of her face were a mirror. And her eyes, rays of light that burned with excitement similar to the flame. It reminded me of the fire I saw in a dream once.
The nostalgia help me burn the image of the dance to my brain, as though itself was branded as a slave to the timeless moment between us.
And slowly, the flames died. With all that was left of our memories of the dance fading away as though it were kin.
-Chapters until 'Seed of the World Tree' — 2 Remaining.-
Personally I feel as though the sudden shift of madness within Willow was a bit rushed, writing that was a slog.
The chapter was a bit dark and heavy, with some sort of mysterious kinship building between Slayer and Arhen. And a sudden explosion in the plantation, pretty sure the majority can guess what happened there.
The arc is almost over, with two chapters remaining. I'm almost excited to get to the next arc.