Sylvia stood in the hall of their triumphs, gazing at the monument to their will. It had been over five centuries since the Devil King had triumphed, and one hundred years since Sylvia had proven to be greater than the gods. Her treasure chamber was not the sleek steel or plastic of the modern world, but a dark, stony chamber, lit by smoky torches and a few braisers of burning coal. Like in the old days, when Sylvia had been a Chimera that ruled her own dungeon.
Sitting upon the throne of the Last King in Exile, Sylvia gazed around at the rest of her trophies. The most numerous were the ones that brought the most personal pleasure to the Fleshshaper: The jars of Crimson Eyeballs. Touching the necklace they rarely wore, Sylvia smiled, thinking of the last three eyes that had been delivered. That had been mere weeks ago. Over the years, the supply had dried up, and with sightings now rare, perhaps Sylvia had averted that long ago prophecy.
"None of your red eyed rats to kill me now, are there?" Sylvia said, looking over to the state of the Goddess Eris, looted from her temple on the moon. It had once been austere gilded marble, but Sylvia had touched it up, adding garish color, as well as a large black rubber dildo and caked on some makeup. The WHORE in bright red letters across the base had been something their shock commandos had done, but Sylvia approved.
In the time of your triumph, when you believe yourself king
The daughter of Belzerg shall take back her throne and land
And the muse once thought fallen shall rise up and sing
On that day, the last of the Clan shall slay you, sword in hand
"I'm bitch queen of the universe anyway," Sylvia growled. She sipped from the chalice that Zestia, last Bishop of Alchanretia had drank from. As was typical of the Axis cult, it wasn't gold, but rather cheap brass. The step, however, did look like two naked figures, one a loli, the other a shota. Yes, stamping those sickos out had been doing the world a favor.
"I'll soon have the princess back in hand," Sylvia mused, gazing around at yet more of her collection. Various Divine Treasures, long since drained of all their mana, were scattered around the room, along with the flayed skin of several of their isekais.
Yes, Discordia, her moon, would continue to be the one source of life in the system. One day soon, Belzerg would finally die, Sylvia would stomp down the last of their rivals, and live forever as queen of Discordia.
Snarling in disgust, she nearly crushed her treasured goblet, but instead drained the last of the wine. Bored. So bored for the last few decades. Yes, triumph was lovely, but where was the challenge after that? What new thing to assimilate or dominate? What new pleasures to find?
"Perhaps this is all for the best. Some new stimulation, something to shake the rust off," Sylvia sighed, setting her cup back on its pedestal next to the throne and stretching. A timid knock came at the door, and Sylvia sat up. "Enter."
Sena crept in, her new alligator tail dragging along behind her. Sylvia had crafted it on a few hours ago, and Sena's eyes were still red and puffy. Sylvia hadn't used any sedative or drugs, simply letting her pet howl. The alligator tail was interesting at least. Not something Sylvia had done before. Literally and figuratively.
"Mistress, there is news," Sena said, prostrating herself before Sylvia. "We believe we have located the escaped prisoner."
Standing, Sylvia stretched languidly. "Good, good. Where? And more importantly, who? Was it just the Avatar playing tricks?"
"ShopWiz," Sena said, still face down on the floor, her voice slightly muffled. "Aboard the Guild Hauler."
Pausing in their stretching, Slyvia unconsciously took on their most ancient form: that of a three headed beast. One of a lioness, the other of a dragon, the third of a goat, and the head of an asp as a tail. The lion was blinded, the dragon's horns were cut off, and the goat was missing its tongue. The three forward heads hung limp, as if dead, and the snake head rose up to speak.
"Truly? Wizsss issss not the one who…" Slvia paused, then hissed in anger. They took on the form of a dusky woman with large breasts, frowning in irritation. "Not the one who I would have guessed. That foolish lich should never have survived this long."
Unless, of course…it was all an act? Six hundred years of playing the bimbo…it was possible. Unlikely, but possible. Wiz had always been phenomenally powerful, and a woman that even now Sylvia was fairly certain she would lose to in a one on one duel. Which is why Sylvia no longer fought one on one duels with anyone near a peer opponent. Gone were the days where generals had to rule through force. Narcotics and cults of personality were far better tools to control the populace.
"I only know that we have received a call from a traitor aboard the ship. They confirm that Kazuma Sato and a girl calling herself 'Alice' are aboard the guild hauler, and that a smuggler named Dust was the one who retrieved them from the surface," Sena said, looking up at last. Her expression was hopeful, fearful. "Have…have I served well, Mistress?"
"Call me, Master," Sylvia said, removing their dress. "And yes. Come and claim your reward, my pet."
Sena staggered to her feet, eager to pleasure Sylvia once more. A few quick minutes of pain inflicted and pleasure taken. Then Sylvia would deal with these meddlesome fools once and for all.
"Child of Japan and Daughter of Belzerg. I shall enjoy locking you both away, to power my world forever," Sylvia hissed as Sena groaned under them. Yes. Soon, all of Belzerg and Discordia would bend over and offer themselves to Sylvia. It was as nature intended. The strongest triumphed.
Watching the display in the command center, Kazuma was able to slowly parse just what was going on. Fighting had already broken out, though the Guild Hauler had not yet been caught up in it. Even after less than ten minutes from Luna's initial broadcast, one of Discordia's stations was venting atmosphere and flames, the carcasses of two shattered highliners nearby. They hadn't even been ShopWiz ships: one had been a Church of Serenity Pleasure Barge, the other a CatsEye Group construction ship. Both of them had been sporting impressive armaments, but nothing compared the the massive fixed emplacements the much larger station sported.
Luna sat in her command chair, fingers laced before her face, watching the display. The atmosphere was tense, as nervous techs peered at their screens or frantically entered orders. The emergency lighting was off, but there was still a tense, grim atmosphere.
"Ten seconds until they enter our engagement envelope," a nervous young tech said, scratching at his long pointy ears.
"My orders stand, Mr. Greenbough. Fire as soon as they enter effective range," Luna stated calmly.
Kazuma went back to watching the display, his heart in his throat. The second ticked down, and then the sweating tech pushed a button.
There was, of course, no real sound. Just a slight shudder and perhaps if Kazuma wasn't imagining it, a high pitched whine as the laser batteries and rail guns opened up. The Guild Hauler was still hauling ass away from Discordia, towards where the various ShopWiz ships were trying to meet up before heading back towards Belzerg.
Kazuma was a bit vague on what the exact plan was, as orbital mechanics were not his strong point. But what it boiled down to was fairly simple: the big ships had lower acceleration, but in the long run, could absolutely outpace any of the smaller ships as they both carried more fuel and could accelerate longer and harder. The issue was that you simply could not accelerate all the way back to the planet. If you did, you'd either never be able to slow down enough to make orbit, simply shooting off into the great black void, or you'd turn into a nice bit of flaming rubble when you burned up in the atmosphere, highliners never having been meant for atmosphere.
Which meant that while they COULD burn hard enough that the smaller craft would be left behind after a brief fight, the reality was that they simply couldn't afford to accelerate that hard. If they did, when the ship hit turnaround, they would have to decelerate, and be sitting ducks as they had to bleed acceleration, something you very much didn't want to be doing in a firefight. So better to let the ChimeraTech interceptor craft catch them while they were still accelerating, and thus could maneuver more easily.
"A hit!" the young elf gasped, and he raised a fist. "I got one of the fuckers!"
Cheers erupted throughout the bridge, with even Luna cracking a smile and nodding in approval.
"Back to your stations!"
The celebration ended abruptly, as Alice stepped forward from where she had been standing at parade rest beside Luna's command chair. "That is but one among many. The battle is not over. Maintain your vigilance! Captain Luna!"
"Y-yes ma'am?" Luna gasped, flinching and looking flushed.
"This is your first battle?" Alice asked calmly, turning her gaze back to the main display, as the ChimeraTech interceptor craft plunged on. It was a mishmash of small strike fighters, assault shuttles, a few frigates meant for combat, and one mid-sized cargo ship that had a surprising number of missile tubes on it.
"I…yes, your G-, um, Miss Alice," Luna said, flushing. She was clearly trying to not indicate that Alice was the one truly in command, but that was hard when everyone was literally tripping over themselves to follow Alice's every order.
"I have fought in many battles," Alice said. Then her face fell. "Though I do not remember them."
That earned her puzzled looks, and Alice looked as though she were about to cry for a moment. She had these weird moments of seeing like a badass hero out of legend who was absolutely unstoppable, and well, a scared little girl.
Kazuma rested his hand on Alice's shoulder and gave it a squeeze, smiling down at her. She looked up at him for a moment, startled, then her resolve firmed.
"Do not hesitate!" Alice declared, throwing a hand forward. "Show the foes no mercy! Fire all guns, and stand by to repel boarders!"
For a few minutes, the larger weapons of the Guild Hauler had the superior range, and Kazuma watched as one by one, the enemy was blotted from the display. Either destroyed outright, or too damaged to sustain the breakneck acceleration to overtake the Guild Hauler.
Then, the first lances of deadly light and streaks of missiles headed towards them. The ship rocked gently at first, the weaker lasers of the enemy unable to do much at extreme range in the initial barrage, the energy dissipated by the Guild Hauler's armor and shielding. Missiles were picked off by point defense systems, and it seemed the one sided battle would continue.
Then the first missile got through the Guild Hauler's defense envelope. The ship suddenly bucked, the lights flickering off for a moment, before returning. But alarms blared, and techs shouted in panic.
"Breach! Hull breach, starboard aft, compartment…Sweet Serenity, compartments 423-467, Alpha to Gamma decks!"
"Seal it off, and get damage control down there!" Luna barked. "Be ready! That won't be the last hit! And take out that cargo ship! Its missiles are going to overwhelm us the closer it gets!"
More frantic fire, and the ship vibrated and their pursuers slowly died. The fight dragged on and on, lasting over an hour. By the end of it, the Guild Hauler was only limping along feebly, half its engines gone, dozens if not hundreds of compartments destroyed, half its weapons either exhausted of ammunition or disabled. Most of the enemy was dealt with, but by no means all.
"They could kill us," Luna hissed, watching the display. "With our shields down at that last breach, one rail round or missile into the hole and our back would break and we'd be nothing but a hulk. So why…"
"She shall not have me again," Alice declared, and put a hand to her hip, where a sword would have been. She blinked, frowning. "Where is my blade?"
"Lady Alice?" the CorpSec Sergeant asked. He'd remained behind, while most of his fellows had gone off to assist with damage control.
"Nothing," Alice said, shaking her head. She turned to Luna. "They are coming after me. The Fleshshaper is a jealous creature: She will not be denied her prize."
Biting her lip, Luna jerked a nod. "I…I confess I agree with you, Your High- Miss Alice."
"She knows. Why should I hide?" Alice demanded. "Let them come for the last daughter of Belzerg. Fetch me my blade! They shall not find me wanting!"
With that, Alice strode away, followed hot on her heels by Lolisa, who looked rather grim, but determined all the same. Kazuma hadn't ever seen a succubus get dangerous, they were rather infamous for being easy targets. Sure, they were supposed to be seductive and master manipulators, but they were physically weak, and while they'd been known to slit a John's throat if he got too rough, or shoot someone in the back, they were generally considered pushovers in a direct confrontation.
Those people clearly hadn't met Lolisa, who had a literal aura of menace about her. Kazuma absolutely didn't want to get between Lolisa and whatever she wanted to kill…unless maybe she was interested in a quickie, because he was totally down for- no, no, that was the horny aura she seemed to be layering on as well.
Kazuma jogged up to Alice as she strode down the hall, her metal boots clanking on the decking. She was dressed in the latest power armor, though the model seemed to have been meant for a female dwarf instead of a human girl. "Hey, Alice! It's not a sword, but…"
Kazuma took the chipped and somewhat shoddy machete out of his pack, handing it over to Alice. A grin bloomed on her face, and she held up the tool. "A fine blade indeed. Thank you, brother."
Nodding, Kazuma swallowed. "I…I don't know how much help I'll be…you're pretty bad ass little sis, but honestly I'm just a sanitation worker."
Who would much rather have been a layabout NEET. Kazuma had always clocked out as soon as possible to head back to his little closet for a wank and some drugs, avoiding social interaction for VR porn.
"You have the blood of heroes, Kazuma Sato," Alice told him, standing on tiptoe to kiss Kazuma on his cheek. "You shall not fail to live up to it."
I already have, Kazuma thought, but he forced himself to smile and nod.
After that, it was helmets on. A moment later, Lan's voice spoke in Kazuma's ear.
"We've got leech craft making contact in multiple sectors. Starboard after, port fore, and of course, starboard fore, right where our engines are. They get command of engineering and we're screwed. Your highness, Engineering is the top priority. After that is life support, which the port aft crew are probably heading for."
"Understood. I shall lead the defense of this engineering," Alice said immediately. "Brother, you take these noble marines to defend the life support systems. Sir Dust? Can you hear me over this auspex?"
"Loud and clear, your Majesty!" Dust's voice said enthusiastically.
"Your group is nearest to that third boarding party. I suspect they seek to take the command deck. Do not let this happen," Alice ordered.
"You got it! Come on, Rin! Let's go kick some ass!"
Dust's line went inactive, and Kazuma swallowed. "Uh, Alice…" Swallowing his repeated complaints that he was just a janitor, Kazuma forced himself to smile and give his new little sister a thumbs up. "Stay safe, OK?"
She smiled and saluted with her machete, then strode off with Lolisa to face a literal army on their own. Somehow, Kazuma felt a little bad for the army.
He turned to the corpsec goons and swallowed. "Right. So, does anyone want to show me where Life Support is?"
"This way, sir," the sergeant said, and they bounded through the ship. With acceleration slowing and no real rotational momentum, there was little gravity, they were able to swing through with great ease. It gave Kazuma a bit of an upset stomach to be in micro again so soon, but with the ship still bleeding air and taking damage, he couldn't complain too much.
Life support on a guild highliner was one of the most dangerous places on a ship, largely because the main ingredient to support life was oxygen. And since no one had ever been able to get enough plant life growing on a spaceship to recycle the air the natural way, a variety of scrubbers and chemical reactants to turn CO2 back into breathable O2 were used, those were also deadly explosives waiting to be detonated. Still, those paled in comparison to the tanks of liquid oxygen as far as disaster potential went.
Additionally, seizing life support put the entire ship on a timer. A spacesuit had oxygen in the tanks for a few hours, and after that, it needed a recharge. Whoever controlled that air supply would control the ship, and thus if someone did want to take a big ship, the second best option was to seize life support.
The main way was, of course, to seize engineering, giving control of the power that was needed to run life support and all the other vital systems. But that wasn't Kazuma's problem.
"Right, so, how do we set up?" Kazuma asked once they reached life support. It was at the end of a maze of tight, narrow corridors, with firing slits that went between long kill zones, and sharp corners to limit the number of attackers that could approach at once.
"We post two man teams at the check points here, here, and here," Kazuma's corp sec goons said, pointing to a schematic. "The enemy will be here any moment. If we had more men, we could do more, but time is limited and so are our resources."
Kazuma frowned at the map, then paused. He took out his card, and went over the spells he had. Pick Lock probably wasn't going to be useful. Steal might be, if one of the enemy fighters was a hot girl. But stealing someone's panties in the middle of a firefight was of questionable value. The others though…Kindle, Gust, Freeze, Spark, Create Water, Summon Earth…and what was this one? Bloom? He didn't have a lot of mana, so he couldn't do any of them very much, but…
"Do me a favor. Can we crank up the humidity in these corridors? Like, a lot?" Kazuma asked, pointing.
"Er, yeah, but why would we do that? The condensation will gum up some systems but-"
"Just do it, and quick, OK?" Kazuma's mind raced, and he grinned. "I think I know how we can put a stop to their little plans real fast."
A short time later, welding arcs appeared around the far door, even as the humidity began to steadily rise. Kazuma had positioned himself by the first firing slit, and he watched as the door glowed for a bit. "Steady, lads. Just wait. Get ready to fall back."
"Sir? We haven't even returned fire," the sergeant pointed out.
"Oh, it's not about fire this time," Kazuma said, watching the door. "Those are bad ideas next to this much oxygen anyway."
Kazuma waited, crouching down as the door finally blew open, and heavily armored ChimeraTech blackhats rushed in, weapons thundering. He waited for the first few to get in, then grinned and turned on the water hose someone had found him. Water gushed down the corridor, spraying everywhere and bouncing off surfaces in the low gravity. He added a gust of wind with his magic, and soon everything was absolutely soaked.
It didn't slow down the enemy though. They appeared slightly baffled at being suddenly wet, but while the water clung to them, it didn't really hamper their ability to move or fire. Not yet, anyway.
"FREEZE!" Kazuma roared, slamming his hand down into a puddle of water. Ice rippled out, and soon the corridor and everyone in it was frozen solid, the ice quickly hardening. It didn't work quite as well as Kazuma had hoped: While the enemy was indeed coated in a thin layer of ice, they also had on power armor for the most part, and at first, they didn't seem to be all that affected.
But then, systems began to seize up: space suits were not designed to be operated in high humidity environments, and while they were rated for the cold, they were not rated for a thorough dunking and then being frozen solid. There were screams as servos seized up, or the moisture inside the suits froze, ice crystals piercing skin and filling nostrils and mouths.
Nodding in satisfaction, Kazuma lobbed a thermal grenade down the corridor, just as he and his team dove for the second checkpoint and slammed the door shut behind them.
"Sir…what the hell was that?" the sergeant panted, looking back at the door behind them. "How'd you drop the temperature so fast? Not even liquid nitrogen would have frozen everything so quickly. And that ice…it's like it devoured the enemy."
"Just a little magic my friend," Kazuma said with a grin, flexing his hand. Damn, maybe he was a hero, if he could pull stunts like that.
"Alright, new plan this time," Kazuma said, standing up. "They'll expect the ice now. That means we need to come up with something new and exciting to waste them. So here's what we're gonna do…"
The next time, the enemy was more cautious, sending in several drones first. Kazuma had his goons snipe those down, and it wasn't particularly hard. Then they played a bit of grenade tag, until the heavies came in once more. Now Kazuma's lightly armed security force couldn't do much against the enemy, but they also hadn't been paying attention to what Kazuma had been throwing downrange in addition to the grenades.
Between all the scorch marks, bits of metal and plastic, and deafening noise, no one noticed that Kazuma had been throwing clumps of dirt down range with Create Earth. There was now quite a bit of dirt, which was nicely moist thanks to the humidity Kazuma was still pumping into the area. He created one more clump of dirt, and held it in his hands. "Bloom!"
What Kazuma had been expecting, he wasn't really sure. But life germinated in his hands, called forth by the mana he'd supplied. A flowering vine sprouted, something that Kazuma recognized as kudzu. Still feeding the plant magic, Kazuma chucked it against the corridor wall, then planted his hands down on the ground. "Bloom! Bloom! Bloom!"
Kazuma wasn't sure what he'd been expecting to happen, but the corridor suddenly burst with thick, leafy vines. The enemy began to scream in bafflement, then in pain, as vines burst and wrapped about them, seeking more places to bloom and grow. Soon the entire passageway was blocked by a solid wall of vines, and there were feebly struggling figures who's armor had become too choked with vines to properly move.
One of Kazuma's corpsec guards broke cover to reach out and grab a trailing vine of kudzu, bringing it close to their faceplate. A moment later, they popped the visor, revealing the face of a grizzled old orc. She sniffed the leaf with her piglike snout, her expression one of pure incredulity.
"But…nothing grows in space. It's the radiation or something. Hard to even get pregnant in the void…how…how did this happen?"
"Pure magic and skill, baby, pure magic and skill," Kazuma bragged. He jerked his thumb over his shoulder. "Go take care of our problems and make sure no more are coming. Take them a while to get through that stuff. Don't worry, it's just kudzu: it's harmless."
"If you say so sir," the orc agreed, putting her helmet back on and taking out a knife. She began the brutal work of butchering the poor sods who had kudzu growing into their noses.
Turning his back on the grisly sight, Kazua opened a call to Alice. "Hey sis, how are things?"
"Brother? I can hear you over the auspex," Alice replied, the signal still clear thanks to the ship's internal systems. "Hmm…what is this? Video…I shall accept."
A moment later, Alice's viewpoint appeared on Kazuma's visor, and he very nearly vomited.
Dismembered corpses littered the wide hallway that Alice had chosen for her battlefield. Blood, offal, and bones floated in the low gravity. It seemed that Kazuma had been right to pity the enemy army, because Alice alone seemed to have been more than sufficient as a deterrent, despite the fact that at least thirty heavily armed foes seemed to have attacked.
"We are victorious thus far," Alice informed, the camera jerking up and down as she nodded. "Those that resisted are dispatched."
"You…you killed them all?" Kazuma asked, feeling a lump in his throat.
Alice made a disgusted noise. "Of course not. Those that bent the knee were spared."
The camera panned, revealing about a dozen stunned looking ChimeraTech blackhats, sitting on the floor with Lolisa monitoring them. As Kazuma watched, the succubi bid one of the prisoners to stand. He slowly got to his feet, and then walked over to the succubus, who kissed him. The human man let out a gasp, clutching at Lolisa.
"Doesn't that feel good?" she cooed at him.
He nodded, apparently unable to speak, and drooling slightly.
"Good, good. Now…let's talk about your friends. How many more are coming?" Lolisa asked, stroking the man's chest.
"N-no more here," the man stammered. "They're…they're going after the command deck…"
"Damn!" Kazuma gasped. "Dust, Dust are you-"
"Hey man, this shit is GREAT!"
A moment later, Dust's POV appeared next to Alice's, revealing an equally devastated landscape. There were various fires burning, smoking holes in the wall, and several enemies impaled on what appeared to be large pieces of rebar that had been sharpened on one end. Other corpses were smoldering and burning, or with spikes of ice.
"You should have SEEN Rin!" Dust said excitedly, taking off his helmet and spinning it around so Kazuma could see his face. "She was throwing around all kinds of crazy stuff! Fire, lightning, ice, it was GREAT! Hey, babe, it's Kazuma, say hi!"
Rin looked up from where she was slumped on the deck, and gave a feeble wave. "Hey…"
"Lady Rin! Are you well?" Alice asked, sounding near panic with worry.
"I'm good. Just tired. Didn't scratch me," Rin sighed, laying her head back down.
"That's probably the mind down stuff, she must have blown through all her mana," Kazuma said. He yawned and shook himself. "I'm pretty bushed myself. Heh heh. Bushed."
"Brother," Alice warned, her tone suddenly frosty.
"No, it's a pun! Look!" Kazuma poked his head around to show the blossoming kudzu. "I figured out how to get plants to grow in space. You just need dirt, water, light, and a bunch of mana."
"Well yes, obviously. Everyone knows that nothing can grow without infusions of mana," Alice said, sounding exasperated. "What of Captain Luna?"
"She was great! She started cussing up a storm, and then get this: She started RAPPING! It was so hype, everyone started fighting harder!" Dust declared excitedly. "Next time we're busting out the karaoke for her!"
"There is no need for that, Mr. Sheyka," Luna said, striding into view. She was in armor now as well, though it didn't appear she'd done much in the way of fighting, as it was still immaculate. "My Queen, I urge you to hasten back here. The enemy has been repelled for now, and we're drawing away from any pursuit. However…we are far from out of danger. Conflict has broken out everywhere, and alliances are emerging. The path back to Belzerg is not clear yet."
Meanwhile, down in the hanger, Keith accepted a small package from black armored figures.
"You gentlemen won't regret this," Keith chuckled. "Trust me, they'll make a run for it, and I'll let you know when they do."
"Good," one of the blackhats said. "Just don't get sloppy."
A few others were dragging over corpses, placing them in compromising positions. Another fired at the Faitfor a few times, and the entire thing looked battle damaged. There had been plenty of dead from the initial assault to do some artistry.
"Hey, give me enough credits to live like a king on Discordia for the rest of my life, and I'll be as careful as you want," Keith chuckled. Then he snarled. "And make sure I get a pet succubus. One that's nice and tame. The kind that sucks you off and calls you master."
"Whatever you want. Just get us the girl," the ChimeraTech blackhat said. He looked around. "Right. Let's get out of here."
The blackhats snuck off, and Keith went over to the radio. He hyperventilated a bit, then put in a call.
"Shit, Dust, they attacked the ship! Taylor's dead! We fought them off, but-"
"What? Holy hell, OK, we'll be down to help in a minute. Are you ok?" Dust demanded.
Keith couldn't hold back a smile, looking down at the device in his hands. "I guess I'm fine. Scared the hell out of me, but fine. Wait, fuck!" Keith fired off a few rounds into a blackhat corpse. "Sorry, one was still moving. Yeah, I think I'm fine. But this is bad news, Dust."
"Don't sweat it. Shit, Taylor…we'll be down soon!"
Keith sat, regarding the corpse of his former friend. "No hard feelings, right? You'd do anything to get a head, wouldn't you?"
Taylor, of course, answered with the silence of the grave.