I woke up to someone knocking on my door. Rex sat up too, his ears pointing straight up and alert, but no noise or barking. I didn't know if that was upsetting or not, 'cause while I appreciated the lack of loud barking as a wake-up call, he was also the shittiest guard dog ever. Maybe that was just the agitation of being woken up at… Wait a second.
It's still the middle of the night, god-damn it!
With a groan, I stood up and began getting a fresh pair of pants on, not even bothering with the shirt. When I approached the door, I heard another knock, followed by hushed arguing on the other side.
"Lady Olga… Please, I must ask you to reconsider," said the familiar voice of Chloe. "What little power you do have shouldn't be spent like this! Who knows if it would even work!" she argued in a hushed tone.
A heavy sigh was heard. "I have already considered the alternatives. While I would like to find a way to replicate his Mana regeneration…" there was a brief pause. "He radiates it now. Magic is practically coming out of him like a spring with no sign of weakening. While I personally loathe the method of it… should it work, then by this time tomorrow I will have regained some of my power."
Alright, I've heard enough.
"What do you want?" I bluntly asked, opening the door and catching them both by surprise.
The Dark Queen's eyes briefly flashed with surprise, but she quickly schooled her features. "I have something I must discuss with you."
The lights in the hall were dimmed just enough to see, but not enough to completely illuminate the surroundings. I could make out their faces and bodies, but just barely. "Couldn't it wait until morning?" I asked, wanting to just head back to bed.
She shook her head. "It could, but waiting until then would be wasting time," she told me. I couldn't resist the urge to roll my eyes as I stepped aside to allow them in.
"Have you considered my offer?" Olga asked as she strode in, Chloe right behind her. Both were greeted by a happy puppy, who began jumping and trying to lick their faces. It was an amusing sight, but she managed to push him off and take a seat.
I nodded. "Yeah, it sounds good. What's that gotta do with you waking me up in the middle of the night?"
"Well, if I am to begin teaching you as soon as possible, then I need power," she stated, holding out the Dragon Priest Staff. "While this is a useful tool, it is nowhere near as versatile as my own."
I let out a groan, not really being in the mood for a big explanation. "Get to the point," I said tiredly.
Chloe growled at me, "The point is that Lady Olga cannot teach you anything right now!"
"What?"
Shaking her head, Olga explained. "My magic relies on my body's natural mana reserve. I have little to draw on, let alone use it to teach you anything."
I frowned and threw my head back. "Fuck…"
I had forgotten she was running on near empty.
"There is no need to use foul language, as I have a solution to the issue… with your consent, of course."
I raised an eyebrow. "Really?"
If she tries to ask for blood, or saliva, or anything, I'm not going to let her make a fool out of me like Kin did.
"Chloe and I had been discussing the revelation of tonight, and seeing your defeat of the Dragon reminded me of something. A particular incantation that my kind developed, but with how often it was met with diminishing returns, it was deemed weak, and as such left behind in favor of other spells."
"What?" I said in disbelief. "Wait, so you had a way to restore your magic this whole time?"
"Not quite," she stated. "The spell in question requires the user to remain in physical contact with the victim, and it only works on people, or creatures that already have magic."
Ah… I guess that does make the people she could use it on slim pickings. "Human mages use spell books… or very recently, staves," she said, her eyes drifting to the one in her hand. "It doesn't work on them either."
"Couldn't you have taken it from the monsters that were leeching off of you?" I asked. It seemed like an obvious solution, didn't it?
The two women looked disgusted by the very notion. "I know you are an idiot, but how stupid are you?!" The Half-Elf asked with a voice that was a mix between repulsion and anger.
Thankfully, Olga was calmer than her servant. "I don't think I need to tell you why letting them know I was weakening is a bad idea," she said, and… yeah, that's on me. I forgot about the whole weak thing.
"I understand. So you want to use that spell on me, because my magic regenerates, right?"
"That is correct," she confirmed, before looking away, avoiding eye contact. "However, there is another… issue," she added. "To receive the best results, we must be skin to skin. My body must be flush against yours. No space between us must exist if I am to receive the most magic out of you."
I blinked… one, two… three times before the realization set in.
What kind of magic is…
Oh, right, Hentai.
... Well, I could say no. After all, there were a few reasons why going through with this isn't a good idea. What if she decides she actually hates humans and starts actually being a problem? What would people think of me helping her, what would the Shields think?
On the other hand, even if she does become a concern, that day could still be a ways off. Even then, she may be a master mage, but I have the Thu'um. If she tries anything, I'm not totally defenseless in this regard.
... Then again it's not me that I should be worried about, but her potential victims. If it turns out she's just using me to get her second chance to attack, then all that she does will be on me.
...
No... she's too proud to betray her word like that. If she was, she would have done it when I was unconscious and vulnerable. And there's always the possibility that she wouldn't turn on us at all. Plus, she did still help save Feoh, so...
Fuck it, I'll give her the benefit of the doubt.
"Are you… alright with that?" I asked, a bit uncertain.
"No, she isn't!" Chloe finally spoke up. "It would mean she would have to make herself vulnerable around you! A Human!" she cried out. It was then, in a brilliant moment of clarity, that I remembered something: she had the hots for Olga.
"If I could, I would-"
"What if you slept next to her, then?" I suggested, nearly bursting out laughing at the immediate expression change.
Her face went red, and all the rage faded as if I had just flipped her world view. She sputtered her words for a moment, trying to form something of a coherent sentence.
"I-I- That-Uh-"
She failed.
Olga glanced at her servant for a moment. "Hm, it seems you broke her," she stated, observing the meltdown that was Chloe. It made me miss my old phone; I would have made that expression my wallpaper. "However, back to the subject at hand, while the idea is certainly one that does not sit well with me… I am currently willing to set aside my discomfort for the possibility of having some power return to me."
With a deep breath, I nodded, "Alright… Umm, what do you want me to do?"
Olga took a deep breath. "Lay in bed, take off those pants, and close your eyes," she ordered, and I complied. I had to play this carefully, otherwise what little trust they have in me might be shattered.
"Should I keep my underwear on?" I asked. I could at least offer to keep my dick contained.
She nodded. "While skin to skin contact is necessary for the spell to work, I must admit that I am not comfortable with the idea of sleeping next to a man with absolutely nothing on."
Ah. Good thing I asked then.
"Um… Lady Olga, would you feel better if I were next to you?" Chloe offered.
The Dark Queen smiled. "I know how you feel about men, Chloe," she said soothingly. "You don't have to put yourself through this for my sake."
"But… But what if he…" she tried to argue.
"If I can make a suggestion…" I offered. "Have her sleep next to you. It'll at least put her at ease knowing she can do something if the need arises," I stated. "Not that I would do anything like that, but I think she'll have a harder time relaxing and getting to sleep if she spends all night worrying about you."
Olga remained silent, considering my words. "I see…" she said quietly. "Are you certain about this, Chloe?"
"Yes, Lady Olga!" the blonde sounded happier, at least.
Too bad I had my eyes closed.
"Chloe… you do not have to undress if you do not wish to," Olga told her subordinate.
"Lady Olga, my outfit is not exactly the most comfortable to sleep in," she argued. "I don't wish to cause you any discomfort by wearing it to bed."
Silence after that, only broken by the sounds of their clothing landing on the floor. I heard Olga mumble something, and I could feel the burst of magic. "The spell is done," she said, before I felt the bed shift as she climbed on and began to press herself close to me… "On your side," she ordered, and I complied.
Rolling over, they were both out of sight, but I felt Olga begin pressing herself into my back, one arm going around me. I did my absolute best to keep a straight face as I felt her breasts push into my back. I felt her nipples poke into my back, and her boobs smoosh as she pressed as much as she could into me. One of her legs swung over mine, and draped itself over them.
Underneath that though, I felt her drawing magic out of me, but it wasn't exactly a big pull. I don't know if this was an intended effect, but I could feel her… emptiness. She was a nearly dried-out lake, only a small amount left… And with the mana she was draining from me, it was like trying to refill it with a kitchen faucet.
"~Mmm~" I heard her hum contently as she settled in. "~There is so much already~," she said in a voice that…
… Oh, that's a no-no.
"Lady Olga? Are you alright?" Chloe asked. "I've never heard you talk like that before."
Olga… snuggled closer. "~More than alright, Chloe~," she said, slightly muffled by talking into my shoulder. "~Now, sleep.~"
There was some motion behind me; not Olga, but Chloe shifted. I could feel her fingers sneak their way between me and Olga, as if preparing to pull her away at a moment's notice. While they began to relax and try to sleep, I was fighting every single urge in my body with a spiked bat.
Boobs were pressing into my back; bare boobs were pressing into my bare back, and her arm was wrapped around my body, her soft legs on mine… And that beautiful voice, almost whispering in my ear…. I felt like I was fighting for my damn life.
It certainly didn't help that James junior decided it wanted to pitch a tent, and refused to go down. Last thing I wanted was for either of them to notice, even though they were on the other side of me. If they did anything, they would see it: Olga could peek over my shoulder, Chloe just had to sit up, and it would be in clear view.
Maybe I could tuck it away? I waited as long as I could for them to fall asleep, before I slowly began reaching my free hand down to my pants and-
I felt Olga shift. Panic flared through me as I stopped dead still.
After a few long moments of no other action, I began to try again. Only… when I grabbed it to tuck it away and hide it, I noticed something.
It felt a bit bigger than I remembered. Last time I could just touch my fingers together, now there was a noticeable gap between them… Was I just misremembering? When was the last time I touched myself like that?
Hmm, I can't seem to recall.
Perhaps my memory is just playing a trick on me?
Regardless, I tucked it away and thanked God that the crisis was averted.
In the Black Fortress, Vault sat on his new throne, laid back and resting his head on his fist while he listened to the Prime Minister of Feoh complain on and on about residing here.
"- And don't even get me started on the smell, those beasts are no better than barn animals!" the old man cried out. "I implore you, camp them outside. I do not wish to share the same roof with those creatures!"
Needless to say, Vault was trying his best to ignore him. He zoned out the man's ramblings, allowing himself to imagine the faces of those stuck-up bitch as they received his declaration of war. How afraid they must be, how much despair Alicia and her cousin must be feeling now that Feoh has been conquered?
'Ah, don't hurt my nuns!'
"Please I surrender, just don't hurt my people!"
"Oh, you animals, betraying my foolish and naive nature!"
"I'm a stupid bitch that's not worthy of command, I am just a living cock-sleeve that needs a big-dicked master to breed me like the slut I-"
His fantasies were interrupted as he heard the sound of a horn, soon followed by Morgan opening the doors to the throne room.
"The army has returned!" he announced.
A wicked smile graced his face as he heard this. "That was faster than I expected," Vault said in a low, satisfied voice. "Send up the Princess, and have a good-looking whore in my quarters for after our meeting," he ordered, Morgan nodding obediently before heading back.
Beardsley had stopped his complaining after hearing the news as well. "Wait, I must get ready!" he said with a mild panic, but Vault simply rolled his eyes.
"If you're not up here to claim her, then I'm sure the War Orcs will be more than happy to take your place," he reminded, silencing the old man.
It took some time for some of the soldiers to make it to the top, but when they arrived it was almost immediately apparent that something was wrong. Their expressions weren't large grins of victory, or satisfied smiles… no, the faces of these soldiers were tired, crestfallen, their bodies slumped in defeat.
"Well… where is she?!" Beardsley had the nerve to ask.
"We…" one of the men tried to speak… only to instead shove one of his companions forward. "I mean, the Captain has a report of the siege!"
Said captain looked at his fellow mercenary with a betrayed gaze. He then turned back to Vault and chuckled nervously at the intense stare he received. "So… Uh, funny story…" he tried to say trying to think of any way to delay the inevitable. "We, um… We attacked Feoh."
Vault looked unimpressed by the attempt to avoid saying the obvious: They had lost.
"What happened?" he asked simply.
"We attacked Feoh…" The captain repeated, looking back at his companions and seeing them all actively avoiding looking at him. "And we… uh… we breached the wall," he stated, waiting for a response.
Vault, however, was already in an irritated mood, and instead slammed a fist down on the armrest of his throne, the loud noise echoing through the mostly silent room. "Tell me what happened. Now," he demanded in a low growl.
The man laughed nervously, trying to hide his obvious discomfort and fear, but failing miserably. "Well, about that… you see…" he said slowly. "We…. Kinda..." he stretched out saying it as long as he could. "Failed to capture Feoh…" he finished in barely an audible whisper, but in the silence of the room it was heard by all.
Failed… That word, even though it was whispered, reverberated through the room as if he had just shouted it.
An army of Mercenaries and Aberrants, assembling one of the most powerful fighting forces in the world against a fortress caught completely by surprise, with every advantage they could have conceivable had…
And yet, they had failed.
"Failed…?" Vault parroted, partly in disbelief, and partly in confusion.
"Failed?!" Beardsley asked, allowing his outrage to be known by all. "I gave you every advantage! I had instructed you how to breach the wall, how to take advantage of Alicia's bleeding heart! Failing that, the escape route of Prim to stop Ur! How did you fail?!"
The captain raised his hands in defense. "It's not my fault! No one told us to watch out for a superpowered freak of nature and a dragon!" He shot back at the Prime Minister, this time with more confidence, since it wasn't Vault he was shouting against.
However, Vault was the one who asked the obvious question. "A freak? A dragon?"
Nodding, the man continued. "The battle was going well. Our man on the inside was spotted already bringing Prim to our army, while the Ghouls and Ogres had captured the nuns and were ready to get Alicia to surrender, as the Prime Minister had instructed."
"And then?"
"Then… things changed so fast. Everything went to shit The Ghouls started getting shot at by a mage on the wall. They were forced to retreat or die, and they did when Alicia herself came down to save the hostages. Once the nuns were out of our reach, we had decided we could at least use Prim as a hostage to stop Ur and capture the Fortress… But then it arrived."
"The dragon?" Vault guessed, and the captain nodded in confirmation.
He tried to find the words to describe it. "It descended upon the city, burning everything and everyone it could find! I watched it eat and stomp on an entire battalion of our men!" Fear laced his voice as he recalled the events.
"It crushed ogres underneath its feet, turning them into paste…" he said quietly. "It swallowed men whole, and anyone unlucky enough not to be devoured or crushed to death was enveloped in fire so intense it melted stone!"
Beardsley frowned. "So, Feoh is no more?" he asked, before his voice took on a more scared and sad tone. "Is Alicia gone?"
The mercenary shook his head. "No, Feoh is good… too good. The dragon had caused issues, delayed our advance. If it hadn't caused so much damage and destruction, we might have penetrated more into the fortress, but it had destroyed a lot of our forces and kept us from progressing. But that doesn't mean it lived to see after the battle. It was slain by a knight that had been fighting for the Shields."
Vault raised an eyebrow. A man had slain a dragon?
"Do we know who it was?"
The man's mouth turned into a thin line, and everyone else present from the siege cringed simultaneously. "Well… We, uh…" he began. "We believe it may in fact have been… James," he said tentatively, then bracing himself for the inevitable outburst.
Vault sat there with an unreadable expression. "What happened next?" he inquired, oddly calm at hearing that name.
"He used the dragon's power against us!" another soldier called out. "One of the other captains ordered to push into the fortress to secure a foothold against Ur, but he shouted us apart!"
Tilting his head, Vault asked, "Shouted you apart?"
Nodding, the captain continued. "Yes… he said only three words, and suddenly we found our army hit with what I could only describe as an unstoppable force. Aberrants were torn apart just by the pressure, and any that didn't die from the initial wave most certainly did when they splattered against the walls or were crushed by the debris it carried with it."
Vault sat there and quietly took in the information. He didn't yell or scream, didn't rage and begin killing his men. He sat there, and thought….
He had thought James to have simply been a lucky bastard one that had managed to surprise him with a clever tactic and escaped, but now the situation had changed.
The young man may have more worth than he had originally thought. If he could somehow convince him to abandon his morals and join his forces, his empire would expand farther than he could have ever dreamed. But for now, he needed to focus.
"So… the initial siege failed, then," Vault said, receiving a few nods as confirmation, "Do we have anything left in the Fortress that we can use? Hargar and his men?"
The captain shook his head. "As far as we know, he got eaten by the dragon while trying to kidnap Princess Fiorire. He's dead."
"Send these women down to their quarters, have them prepared and ready to serve as prostitutes."
"Understood, sir! You heard him, get them down and ready!" the captain barked at his men, who began filing out.
"You, however, stay," he added, pointing at a foot soldier who was close to leaving the large doors. This earned a confused expression from the man.
"Sir?"
"Don't think this failure will go unpunished," Vault said with a menacing edge in his voice. "I'm not an unreasonable man. Your soldiers did everything they could to the best of their ability, but not only did you fail to conquer the fortress… You seemed to think I wouldn't notice you trying to hide among the common grunts, Commander."
The now discovered Commander seemed to shrink. "I…"
Vault glared. "I had entrusted this siege to you, a chance to prove yourself as a competent leader, but it seems my trust has been misplaced," he stated coldly. "I had given you everything you needed to win, even if the Prime Minister's plan had failed… and somehow, you managed to fuck it up." He barked out a laugh. "I don't know if I should laugh at you or throw you out."
The Commander was quick to defend himself.
"It's not my fault!" he cried out. "You sent me the most inexperienced fighter, and those War Orcs kept fighting my every decision!"
Vault narrowed his glare. "I won't tolerate excuses!" Even crippled as he was, the mercenary leader still managed to be the most intimidating man in the room. "I gave you one of the biggest armies ever created, Aberrants and men… you should have won by virtue of numbers alone, even if the War Orcs hadn't been following commands."
"Not when my men didn't know the difference between their dick and… and…" His words were cut off as Vault stood and began to approach slowly, towering over the other man and looking down upon him. "Look… just give me another chance… I… I can do it, I can-!"
He never got to finish his plea before Vault cut him down. One single swing from his massive blade, and suddenly, the former commander was split in two. Beardsley stood away and in shock at the abrupt and sudden murder.
"Now… What to do with you?" Vault asked, turning towards the Prime Minister. "It was our plan that failed to get Alicia to surrender. If I had gone with the War Orcs' plan to ambush her while rescuing her people, then we may be enjoying the spoils of an easy victory."
"Umm…" one of the soldiers that stayed behind made an uncertain sound. "No, we wouldn't be," he corrected, earning a glare from his leader. "The War Orcs were… They were reportedly slaughtered by the Dark Queen and her pet half-breed."
"What?" Vault asked incredulously. "But she was near powerless when we had taken over!"
The soldier nodded. "Yeah, but that doesn't exactly change the fact that she was throwing fireballs and putting a dead stop to our advance wherever we encountered her," he continued. "Some of the guys say she was actually seen protecting women from us."
Vault stood there, and silently processed that information. Had she found a way to restore some of her power? Or was this her using the last vestiges of her magic to protect herself?
Regardless, she just made herself not only a target in his eyes, but a priority. She was originally intended to be a trophy, a symbol of the Service Nation's power… but now she made herself a threat to them. And unlike the Shields, she would need to be sought out and either broken or destroyed.
Preferably broken, but if she could destroy a band of War Orcs with ease, she might not give them the option.
"She was in Feoh, you say?" he asked.
"Yes, sir."
Vault was quiet for a few seconds, Beardsley waiting nervously as the Black Dogs' leader thought… and that nervousness began to rise as the King of the Dark Lands began to adopt a horrid and wicked smile.
"Prime Minister, be thankful I seem to have found another use for you. Do well enough, and you can have Alicia, as we agreed," he said slowly, his mind already working on a way to turn this loss into a victory…
AN: Special thanks to LittleWhiteMouse for proofreading this chapter.
Okay, so this chapter is a bit on the shorter side, namely because it is a bit of an interlude… and not. Namely, because I wanted to address an issue before it became an issue. That being "How is Olga going to teach him magic when she has none?" BEFORE people started getting uppity about it.
This was going to be a part of the last chapter, but it kinda slipped my mind since I wanted to get it out for you guys as soon as I could.
I also wanted to show Vault's reaction to the whole loss, and I had originally intended for him to throw a little tantrum about it… but then I was like, "No, Vault wouldn't do that. You don't go to war and expect total victory, every time. (Even though he got it… but that's because it was a Hentai, and I don't think I need to say more than that.) Regardless, him plotting to turn the situation around seems more in-character, I think.
But anyway, I'm going to try and get started on my next chapter, so we can move the plot along a little more. See you guys then.
Also, to all other writers out there, I have a question: Do you ever find yourself drawn to other projects? And if so how do you keep focused on the fics you are currently doing?
