Monster Girl Encyclopedia Encounter Compendium

by Alleskeins

This is a new one shot series I'm working on based on the Monster Girl Encyclopedia by Kenkou Cross. It will feature tons if not all the monsters represented in the online Encyclopedia and I will give them each a seperate story of an encounter with a human. Rated M for adult content so viewer's discretion is advised. Feedback will be very appreciated.

32. Angel Family: Valkyrie (Domesticated)

IMPORTANT UPDATE AT THE END OF THE STORY
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Sir Reynald of Corria.

The title hovered over my head like a mark of shame.

What was once a great honor and a promise of protection of the values we held, felt like a farce now. I had defiled one of the chief god's most valiant defenders, a Valkyrie of the holy order. I felt like I had betrayed everything we paladins were supposed to stand for.

I tried to get my mind off it. The very morning after the night of our union, I decided to get up early. Maybe some fresh air and cool water would get my mind clear again. But every time, every single second my mind wandered, it went straight to her.

How unfair it was for our Chief God to set a creature of such unattainable beauty unto this earth and punish us for desiring to be close with them. Celeste occupied my every thought. The way she smiled, danced, played with the kids... and the way she lay under me, naked and... "NO! For heaven's sake, you're a knight, Reynald!"

My outburst went unheard in the fields of grain. A scythe rested weightily in my hands but had come to a standstill. I rubbed my eyes, shooing these intrusive thoughts out of my mind. What was I thinking? Celeste was an angel, a literal one at that and I kept picturing her in these depraved situations. It was a love deeper than anything I'd ever felt but wrong all the same.

I hadn't seen her since morning, leaving early as to not face her in my shame. The only thing I dreaded more than the certainty of my God's scorn, was the possibility of seeing her regret. Was I truly a good enough man to be in the presence of such a divine being, let alone be in her heart. I'd treated her like she was a normal human girl for the past few days. Maybe because I'd liked to believe she was.

They were foolish thoughts. Right now, we may be guests at this farm, but soon we would have to return to our duties. A day I dreaded more with every passing moment.

I picked and bound a bundle of wheat, shouldering it and carrying it back to the barn. It was harvesting season and gladly, though I was no expert, it seemed plentiful enough to prepare the family for the winter. God only knows how long they'd need to hold out here. I hadn't heard news from Corria since I'd gotten here. For all I knew, it could have fallen to the succubi, but if it did, the corruption sure took its time to spread if it hadn't spread here.

"Over here, Reynald! Put it int the attic with the others!" I put on a smile as I saw Corinthia approaching. She had been kind enough to give me and Celeste a home here; she deserved to be spared from the horrors of war.

"Alright, alright, I'm coming." I followed her into the barn, climbing the shoddy ladder up to the upper level and stuffed the grain with the overflowing rest of it. I smiled down at her as I leaned on the wooden steps. "You've got a good yield this year. Your cows are certainly going to be happy."

She was looking over the stuffed attic and nodded. "I'm sure they will be, Reynald." A relieved smile crossed her lips as the exhaustion of the harvest season left her body and she slumped onto a bail of hay. "Haaa... I can't thank you enough, dear paladin. You really didn't need to go to such lengths to help out a simple farmer."

I scoffed, stepping off the ladder as I wiped some grains off my white linen shirt. "Don't say that. It's the least me and Celeste can do. Would have met an early grave had you not picked us up. It's... a fair change of pace actually. It feels like a vacation at times compared to service."

Quickly, she shot me a glance and smugly grinned at me. "Speaking of the little lady..."

I gulped.

She crossed her legs and rested her elbow on her knee. "...there's more than duty binding the two of you, isn't there?"

"I... don't follow. Celeste is my guardian angel. We are bound by divination... protection and umm... partnership." I turned to her, waving my hands in denial like a moron, making my fluster even more obvious. "But there is nothing else between us, I swear."

She gave one short chuckle before her crooked smirk grew more haughty. "Whatever you say, noble knight. Seemed to me like there was a whole lot of nothing going on between you in the barn last night."

My heart sank into my stomach as the embarrassment hit me like a carriage. Vivid memories of our loud moans and cries rushed through my mind. I tried to hide the extent of my shame, and badly at that, scratching and biting my cheek. "You... you heard that, did you?"

Corinthia could no longer contain herself and burst out laughing. "Hahaha! Oh, don't worry about it!" She covered her mouth, feigning coyness.

While my face was burning up and I yelled at her, it seemed any sort of reaction I gave just spurred her laughter more. "What do you mean don't worry?! I've shamed myself for the rest of my life with what I did! I... I do not deserve to take this lightly." Walking backwards, I was stopped by a pole. I rested the back of my head against it. "I'm an affront to everything our order is supposed to stand for."

With tears in her eyes and a nonchalant attitude, she leaned toward me and blankly asked me the question I was least prepared for. "Well? Do you regret it?"

"Uh...huh..." The wind was suddenly taken out of my sails. "Regret it?" I mulled the word over in my head. Duty and faith would set a clear answer to that question. However... "I... I can't say that. I know Celeste more now than I ever have before. She was my guardian angel so she was always very important to me but now... it's something more. Something I can't put into words. She loves to sing and dance, she loves kids, she's a hard worker and most of all... she makes my worries seem so small when I'm with her. How could I bring myself to say that I regret any of that?"

She smiled, clearly satisfied and leaned back against the shoddy wooden wall with crossed arms. "It's just as I thought then."

I combed through my short, blonde hair. "Which is?"

The farmer giggled. "You love each other. I saw her this morning, Reynald. Since she's been here, I haven't seen her genuinely smile even once. But now, she carries herself with a spring in her step. Even despite her injuries, she seems more alive than she's probably ever been before the accident."

"B... but she always seemed to be happy to me."

Corinthia pouted a little and smacked me on the head. I hissed for a second before I heard her scold me. "Of course you think that, silly. Did you not notice? She always smiled when she was around you. God, you men are impossible sometimes." She held her forehead in over-dramatized exasperation which soon melted into another warm smile. "My husband used to be just like you. Never picking up on any hints we give you." She sighed as she shook her head.

My heart soared, growing light. "You mean... even back then..." My words trailed off as a grin crept up on my lips. It wasn't even intentional, but I couldn't help it.

"Listen, Reynald..." I faced her again as she took on a more serious tone. Her stern expression supported her words. She knelt down and put a hand on my lap as her eyes stared into mine. "... you've been so preoccupied with your duty and what you two should be, that you forgot to live. Be your roles as important as they may be. Every now and again, you need to allow yourself to be human."

I absorbed her words. She was right. Despite being so close all the time, it is only now that we allowed ourselves to care, that we actually knew each other. And if our God is truly loving, and me and Celeste genuinely loved each other, he would hardly stand between us, would he?

Her gentle hand rested on my leg, however not for long, as I quickly got up, spirits high. I patted myself down, taking a deep breath and extending a hand to help Corinthia get up. "Thank you. I mean it. It's the kind of reassurance I really needed right now."

She closed her eyes and smiled with a cute shrug. "Don't mention it. She's off to gather water." She gave me a quick, motherly hug and patted my chest to tell me to go. "Make her happy. It's your new duty after all."

I puffed my chest, proud of my new task, and nodded before leaving the barn and heading off towards the lake. Fall was quickly approaching and the trodden path was lined with reddening leaves. The chilly winds seemed to carry me towards Celeste. It was like divine guidance that led me toward her, bolstering my convictions that I was doing the right thing. My doubts and fears were pushed to the furthest reaches of my mind.

We all know how stories of pride and ignorance tend to play out.

At that moment though, I was more occupied by the sight before me as I reached the lake. In a long -sleeved, white shirt, royal blue corset and long white skirt with sandals, there she stood. It was hard to remain unbiased when I tell you that she was the pinnacle of radiance. Something only scriptures used to tell of. Her long, platinum-blonde hair swayed in the wind as she knelt by the water, scooping it into a large, wooden pail. She was humming a sweet little tune, a hymn from what I could gather, with a gentle smile on her lips. If ever there was an image of natural, serene beauty, it was the one right in front of me.

I leaned against a shedding acorn tree just watching her from afar. It was a somewhat uneasy feeling I felt when I looked at her. I couldn't tell if it was adoration, anxiety or remaining worry. Calling out to her, felt like I would be breaking the magic of the scenery. However, I didn't need to. Her enchanting, blue eyes wandered until they spotted me in the shade of the tree. My breath halted for a moment when her small, narrow mouth opened into a wide smile and she waved at me. I gave her a smile of my own and waved back.

It was insanely cute how she came running, arms wide open, throwing them around my neck as I caught her. I spun her around, resting our chins on each other's shoulders until I set her down again.

She was beaming at me, holding the sides of my head. "There you are! You had me worried all morning!" With a small pout, she pulled on my ear.

I laughed. "What was there to be worried about? Did you think the squirrels got me?"

"No, you dummy!" She smacked me on the forehead, barely hard enough to sting but hard enough to get the message. "You weren't there when I woke up. I thought... you know." She pressed her cheek to my chest, clinging to me. "I thought you changed your mind about... what we did. I don't know much about the matters of the heart yet, but when you disappeared, I know it ached. I'm smart enough to know that much at least."

I wanted to feel bad, truly I did. But when I looked down at her, sulking with a puffed up cheek, I started cracking up a little. "Hehe, you're pretty worked up about it, huh?" I said, wrapping my hand around her hips.

She punched my chest, again so softly as if she were afraid to break me. "It's insensitive is what it is. I thought you might've run off back to Corria without me." She was visibly upset. It was a way more serious fear of hers than I thought. "It's not fair. You've already got my heart. It would be so easy for you to run off with it."

She was close to crying. I heard it in her voice and it was enough for me to forsake any more teasing. I rested my chin on top of her blonde head and rubbed her slender back. I smiled to myself as I held her and pulled her against my chest. "It wouldn't be much of a gain considering I left my own with you, would it?" I kissed the top of her head as she gripped my shirt.

"Wrong spot." She complained and raised her face to mine. Quickly, our lips found each other, the winds blowing around us as we kissed. She wasn't daring, but the sweetness and emotion came through all the same. It felt like just a peck to me and I wished it to be a lot longer, though I don't think it'd ever be enough.

We kept standing there for a bit after the kiss ended when we remembered that there was work to be done before noon. We both squeezed each other one more time when we parted with a heavy sigh. "I'm sorry, but I promised I'd get the cows some water before they get fed today."

I looked at the pail, filled almost to the brim with liquid. "Looks heavy."

"Trust me, it is." She chuckled, rubbing her neck, stiff from the fact that this was probably not her first run today.

I went over to it, trying to put my hands on the handles, when Celeste rushed in and picked it up herself. "Oh no, no, you don't have to. I'll handle it myself. You've already got your chores, I'll take care of my own." She huffed a little as she heaved up the heavy pail.

I raised my hands to help her but she seemed insistent. I chuckled a little. "Not making it easy for chivalry to stay alive, are you?"

She scoffed back with a cheeky smile. "Sometimes I think you're forgetting that I'm a warrior myself." It just took a couple of feet of walking however, before she winced and nearly spilled the pail.

I put my hands over hers, taking the burden off of them. "And you forget that you're wounded. Don't hurt yourself over false pride, Celeste."
She hesitated, but relented and left the heavy load to me. "I'm sorry I can't be of more help right now. I really don't want to leave everything to you."

"It's fine, really." I grunted as we started walking back to the barn. "Plenty of opportunities once you get better. Making it worse by straining yourself will just set that moment back further. You should know that."

"Can you blame a girl for trying to show off a little?" She joked, making me laugh along with her.

Scoffing at the remark, I replied. "Like you need to. Most of the amazing feats you've pulled off, I was there to witness first hand. During compatibility training, combat practice let alone the front..." I was enthusiastic up until the last few words when all the enthusiasm and lightheartedness left me.

Celeste seemed to feel the same drop in cheerfulness. She gripped her chest, the place her wound was still burning. Her flesh was still seared and recovery, due to the hex that was contained within the spell used against her, was slow. "The front, huh..."

"Right..." I sighed with a chuckle. There it was. That heavy feeling on my mind again.

She fell silent for a moment, pondering in thought. Her heart seemed heavy as well as she faced her reflection on the water's surface. "We'll have to go back at some point, won't we?"

I took a deep breath and nodded as the words exhaled out of my mouth. "It's what I've been thinking about all morning. It used to be so self explanatory. You backing me up from above as I led the charge on the ground. But now the thought of seeing you back on the front lines, especially after our last loss, it just hurts."

"I don't want to see you get hurt again either." She seemed to be thinking it through for a while before she responded. Whatever was on her mind, was visibly hard to form into words. She contemplated it and finally stated the option she wasn't alone in considering. "What if we didn't? Return, I mean?" Our eyes met, my face betraying slight shock at the suggestion.

A moment of silence. We had arrived at the barn. Deep in thought, Celeste stopped and hung her head. I set down the pail before grabbing her shoulders and gazing into her eyes. "We both know we can't do this, Celeste. We've sworn an oath to our people and our faith. As far as we know, the fight in Corria is still going. My sister is back there. Your sisters are there fighting the good fight. If there is anything left to save at all, we owe it to them to help. "

Her gaze swayed to the side. She knew I was right, although it didn't make the thought weigh any less heavy.

I cupped her cheek, causing her to look at me again. "Trust me, I know it's hard to go back into the line of fire when you have something precious to lose for the first time." Wiping a tear from her cheek, I gave her the brightest smile I could muster. It was soon met with her own, though it was filled with pain.

She hugged me tightly, her voice being muffled as she spoke into my shoulder. "We do owe them. As soon as I'm better, we're going back. For Corria and its people... and for us."

I gave in as she guided my face closer, submitting to the kiss she was pulling me into. The autumn winds blew a cold breeze around us, tossing around our clothes. As I opened my eyes, our faces still close together, I spotted it. A patch of blue skin on her neck. I gently caressed it, showing a slight bit of concern. "Did you hit yourself on something? Where did this spot come from?"

"Spot?" She asked in a bit of surprise, touching her neck where I had.

"I think there's a bruise on your neck I think. Does it hurt?"

She poked it a little. "No? I don't know where I could have gotten it from. Unless..." Suddenly, her face turned red and she started avoiding my eyes.

I raised an eyebrow. "Unless, what?"

Celeste gulped and hugged herself awkwardly. "Well... you might have been a little rough last night."

Suddenly, we were both blushing. "Oh..." The words were spoken and lingered in the air as the awkward tension kept building and an incoherent string of sentences exploded between us. "I..if I was, I'm sorry. I mean, not sorry about it happening but being forceful you know."

She waved her arms. "No no! You were lovely! I didn't mean to... I didn't try to imply that... I didn't dislike it?!"

"Me neither! We just got lost in the moment! Maybe?!"

"Yeah!"

"Yeah!"

Silence.

I looked around, checking for distractions, my eyes landing on the biggest thing I could see; the barn. "I need to put the cow feed out."

Celeste probably did the same, wiping the sweat from her brow as the tension drained from her like a pressure valve. "Yeah, I need to make lunch today anyways. You know Corinthia, always something to do around here. Heh." She feigned a laugh and avoided eye contact, just as I did, and walked past me.

We wrote it off as an awkward exchange and for the rest of the day tried to forget about it ever happening.

For the next few hours, I distracted myself with chores that really didn't need doing just to get a clear head again. The cows would have to munch through twice the amount of food they usually would that day. If only I'd known what this seemingly insignificant little discovery on Celeste's body entailed.

Day turned to night. Resting in the barn, I leaned against one of the wooden poles and stared at the ceiling. As it had been many times over the past days, my mind was occupied. Even beyond Celeste, some of my worries started to get to me. With the commander demoness of the succubi still being out there, there was no way to tell if Corria was even still standing. As far as I knew, it may still have been under siege. My brothers and sisters of the order could have been in the throes of battle still. And my sister... she might not have been save either. Had they breached the walls? Did we win?
Part of me wanted to believe in my fellow men, yet another sowed doubt. Many more warriors in our army were just as capable as me and Celeste were... but what if we are the missing support to turn the tide?

Countless deaths could be on our conscience. Could we really justify that? I looked over at the window of Corinthia's house. They were out today yet there was still light. Celeste was preparing dinner for their return.

In there, within those wooden walls was the one thing keeping me from going back. It was selfish. I wanted to imagine that we could be living a life of peace and quiet out here. Without death looming over our heads constantly. It was a nice thought, but foolish.

As long as there were demons out there trying to invade our world. As long as there were people being corrupted and killed in this never ending war, there was no rest for us. I knew that... and I bet Celeste did too.

I contemplated. Tomorrow would be the day. Wounded or not, we had to provide whatever support we could give. It was the only right thing to do. Even if it cost us the happiness we'd built here.

I sighed, knocking the back of my head against the wood. Shame it didn't knock me out, I was getting tired and falling asleep on my own proved to be quite a challenge.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw someone approaching. For a moment I was on edge, the next I breathed a sigh of relief. It was Corinthia with both of her children in tow. She brought groceries from a neighboring farm, a basket full of it.

Even though I saw little more than her dark silhouette, I smiled and waved over at her, getting a tiny wave back. She opened the door to the house and disappeared inside, leaving me once again in somber, contemplative sil...

"AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH! DEMON! DEMOOOOOON!"

Corinthia's shrill, piercing scream pierced the quiet, rocking me wide awake. I jolted up, hastily grabbing my sword and started a dash towards the house.

Cutlery and Crockery seemed to clatter on the ground inside before the door busted open and a shadowy figure stood in the frame.

Raising my sword, I threatened the figure. "Step away! In the name of Corria, you foul... creature..." I trailed off, the night reclaiming its silence again. My sword clattered on the ground as it slipped from my hand.

That thing in front of me, the creature with a mix of light pink and pale blue skin, blonde hair mixed with white, the wings on its hips white on the right and black on the left, a pointy black tail and a single curled horn on the right side of its head... it was her. There was no mistaking it, as much as I wanted my eyes to deceive me.

Stunted and shaking I reached out my hand. "Ce... Celeste?"

In the dark I could barely see her face, yet her tears glistened in the moonlight. Before I could say another word, she ran. Down the road and into the night.

My lips trembled, words failed me. Ears ringing and my mind racing... the only thing bringing me back to my senses was the voice of Corinthia coming to the door. She saw me, grabbed my shoulders and shook me in panic. "Reynald! You need to find Celeste! Something ain't right with her! Something terrible!"

"What?! What happened? Is she okay?" She only trembled in response, biting her finger. Now I was the one shaking her. "Corinthia! What in the hells is wrong with her?!"

She cried, desperately trying to explain it but failing to find the words. "I don't know! I think... Reynald, I think she's turned into one of... them."

"One of who?" I asked, my grip weakening as the meaning of her implication dawned on me.

"You know what I mean, Reynald. I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!"

I became deaf to anything else she said, looking down the direction Celeste ran toward. "She must have gone to the lake. Yeah... I... I... I've got to go to her. This is all just a big mistake. She's sick or... or... this is just an illusion. Yeah, there must still be some dark magic left from the attack."

"Reynald..." Corinthia spoke in a whisper, the pity in her voice entirely lost on me. She reached out, seemingly trying to console me, but I pulled away.

"It's alright... It's alright! We can fix this! I'll find her and we'll fix this!" Without allowing a second thought, I picked up my sword and ran after her, leaving Corinthia with her children. I couldn't even hear the sobs behind me anymore.

The half moon looming on the night sky lit my way, its light breaking through the canopy of trees lining the road. There on the end of the line, I saw the lake again. Contrary to the panic I was feeling, the water was calm, peaceful almost. I came to a stop.

At the water's edge, on a shallow river bank, was Celeste, kneeling and bending over the reflective surface. She was quiet as I approached her.

I knew she was looking at herself and hated what she saw. She did not recognize herself in her reflection. "Celeste..." I called out to her. "I... I came to see if you were alright. You ran away so fast I..." When she turned, my voice trailed off. Her face was stained with tears, reddened on one half and flushed a darker shade of blue on the other. One of her former crystal blue eyes had turned into a vibrant purple.

"I'm a monster, aren't I?" She sobbed, staring down at her reflection in agony. "I don't know why this is happening to me. You should have seen their faces. They screamed so loud. They called me a demon, Reynald! A demon!" Her voice cracked and sounded beyond broken.

I knelt down next to her, my gaze focused ahead. I couldn't bring myself to face her. "I heard..." Silence fell over us for a moment as we both gazed at the moonlight reflecting surface of the lake. A heavy weight burdened my conscience. I wasn't ignorant to what was happening to her. As a paladin, I saw plenty of it. "It's corruption..."

She lowered her head, looked at her own image in the water and let some strands of hair slip through her fingers. Some stretches of it were white, others blonde. "You don't see any other explanation either, do you?"

I shook my head.

Celeste forced a smile as if it was a cosmic joke. "I can't go back to my sisters in heaven like this. Corria is going to drive me away... that is if they don't kill me before that." She turned to me, her eyes glassy and devoid of hope. "What am I supposed to do, Reynald? Look at me! I'm an abomination!" She opened her arms to present herself like she was a freak of nature. In the moonlight, her angelic features seemed to fall into the shadows while her demonic ones seemed highlighted.

I held her hands. "This isn't right, it can't be! We haven't done anything wrong! Maybe it was the hex she put on you or maybe you've just been exposed to her too much..."

I grasped at straws, but her gaze caused me to stop. She squeezed my hands back. "Whether or not it is right. Whether or not this was because of what she did or... what we did... the demon realm has me in its grasp now."

Scripture and faith demanded I find this repulsive. To snuff it out where I saw it. It was unholy and infamously irreversible. I knew it, and Celeste knew it painfully well too.

I looked at the sword by my hip, unsheathing it and holding it up between us. The metal shimmered as it reflected the light. Tears welled up in my eyes as I raised it to her. "You know what I have to do." I muttered reluctantly. She accepted it as it touched her neck. Her eyes closed as I put my forehead to hers.

In a quiet whisper, in words that burned in my throat, I recited my code. "In the name of the Chief God, it is my duty to extinguish evil in all its forms..."

"...Banish lawlessness and filth that dares to exist under the eyes of our Lord..." Celeste continued, laying her hand over mine on the hilt of my blade.

I could barely see her through my tears. "...Order needs to be upheld and to that end, this creature shall be judged. As a paladin of the order of Corria, I will act as said judge..."

A sharp breath escaped Celeste's lips as the metal retracted from her throat and my sword clattered on the ground. "...I vouch for this creature, the one known as Celeste, and doom myself to banishment alongside it threaten our faith. My word is final, my judgment has been given."

Celeste's lip trembled, panic filling her. She hastily picked up the sword and forced it back into my hand. "No! NO! Kill me! It's the only way to end the curse! I can't be left alive!"

I tossed the sword further away, letting silence fall over us as it disappeared into the dark. The only sound for a while was the soft ebb and flow of the lake water on the coast.

Celeste broke down crying, pulling on my shirt as her tears stained the fabric. "Why? Why would you do this? You know what this oath will do to you. You'll be ostracized, banished! Do you understand what you've done!?"

She was quieted by my arms around her back. I didn't look at her face as I pulled her against me. I squeezed her, trying everything in my power to convey my feelings. "I've seen enough death." I said sorrowfully. "I won't be responsible for the death of one of our own. You aren't evil, you cannot be corrupted no matter how much demons believe they can. I've seen your spirit. It's indomitable and wonderful. And neither these horns, tail or whatever changes this thing will have you go through, will convince me otherwise."
She was agape in shock, shaking her head slowly from side to side. "Reynald, what you're saying is heresy!"

I sighed, holding her shoulders reassuringly. "If our Lord is as merciful as the church claims he is, he will not let one of his warriors be torn from him this easily. And if he does, he may as well cast me down with you." I cupped her cheek, tenderly caressing her. "What kind of world are we fighting for if we have to abandon and kill our own to achieve it. We've both fought enough to even guarantee the honor of our ascendants. It seems unfair to throw all of that away just like this, and in my eyes, the gods cannot possibly see this as just either."

Her tears rolled over the back of my hand. "How can you know? What I'm turning into is one of the creatures furthest away from God's light."

"We just need to make sure you stay in it then. We can bless you, treat you, heal you. Many sicknesses and curses that have been around for centuries have been eradicated by now. Why not this as well?"

"I'm scared, Reynald."

"I know you are. I am too. But would you rather bear with this for now and possibly be cured or do you want to give up without even having tried?"

She looked over at the sword, lying between the blades of grass, then at her hands. One was already shaded blue, the other a fair skin color.

"In the end, it is your choice. Your pain is yours to bear. But I promise, if you do decide to fight it, I will stand beside you every step of the way. Just like we've always done."

Quietly, she reached out to me, asking for a hug and receiving it without question. Despite being a warrior, she felt fragile in my arms, though I knew she was being stronger right now than any battle before had required her to be. "I'll try. Even if the light of heaven leaves me behind, I don't want to leave you, my oath or my sisters. I will fight in the name of good for however long he will allow me to."

"I know you will. I know. It's the kind of resolve I've known you for since we've met."

She smiled for the first time in a while and wiped her tears as she faced me. Though her gaze lasted just a second as bashfulness forced her to avoid eye contact. "Say, these other feelings. The one we got to share last night. They are real, aren't they?"

I was a bit taken aback by the question. "Real? What do you mean?"

"As an angel, even if it is serving as a Valkyrie, it is my duty to love and feel compassion for all of mankind. But for you it was different. I've always respected and admired you for your deeds; the people you've saved and the innocents you protected, but when I got struck by that hex bolt from the demoness... you nursed me back to health and you made me that flower crown and danced with me and... you made me feel like a girl for the first time. My feelings shifted back then and I kept wondering and wondering if the corruption made you do all this or if it was actually re..."

I placed my lips on hers. Just for a fleeting moment. She whined a little bit but quickly relaxed and took the sides of my head in her hands, gently holding me in place. When I parted, I looked her straight in the eyes, no matter how flustered she was or wanted to turn away. "How does it feel to you? Fake or real?"

Her lip quivered as her voice cracked a little bit. "I...I'm not sure... I think I need more proof."

Our flushed faces met again in a longer, warmer kiss. The moonlight shone upon us as we shared this tender moment that even the autumn night air could not dampen. We spent a few minutes in a somber embrace, keeping close as the night grew cooler and at some point fell asleep with Celeste resting her head on my shoulder.

Despite the rough start to the night, it promised to be quiet, peaceful one. Or at least, that was what I had hoped for.

I awoke a few hours later. It was still dark and the moon was at its zenith still. The first thing that woke me, was the fact that Celeste was suddenly not by my side anymore. And if that hadn't woken me...

"AAAAHHHHAAHHHH! WAAAAAAAHHHHH!"

…the second bone chilling scream of the night certainly did. It seemed the gods would not let us rest for now.

Arming myself with my sword, I ran towards the origin of the scream. Once again, it was Corinthia, yet her screams didn't cease this time. In fact, they grew more horrified by the second.

I arrived behind the barn, peeking around the corner to check what her panic was about. And in that instance, the breath in my lungs froze. A posse of about a dozen succubi had busted in her door and Corinthia was dragged out of the house by her hair. And the person who was dragging her, was the one I dreaded the most coming here. It was the Commander of the attacking demon army, the demoness besieging Corria.

Her voluptuous figure moved with something that might almost be defined as grace if demons even knew that word, full of bravado and aggressive confidence. Her scandalous, what could barely be called an outfit, assortment of black leather straps barely hid her privates, completely unsuited for a woman of war. Similar to Celeste, her body had a purplish blue hue but unlike Celeste, her eyes were black and red and there was no kindness to be found behind them.

Without care, she tossed Corinthia into the dirt, all the while having an annoyed, almost disgusted sneer on her face. "Should've just told me, bitch! Now stop screaming, get up and tell me where the FUCK the paladin is!"

Two other succubi picked Corinthia up by her armpits, forcing her to face the demon. Corinthia was dirtied from her face to her apron, covered in mud. She looked beaten. "I told you already, I have no idea what paladin you're talking about! I'm just a farm..." She was slapped across the face before she could finish her sentence.

The demoness painfully squeezed her cheeks with one hand almost hard enough to draw blood with her long, sharp nails. "I was being nice and put a sleep spell on your brats. Keep testing me and I'll make sure they're wide awake to see their mother get fucking flayed!" She spoke in a manner of fact tone yet loaded with malice and spite.

Corinthia trembled, tears streaming down her face as her eyes went wide. "No... you can't. Leave my kids out of this..."

The demoness leaned in, every word she spoke being more poisonous than the last. "Well, there is another alternative. We could also take you back to where I'm from. You know, a little place called the demon realm."

"No..."

"Yes! You're a nice piece of ass, Corinthia! Bet a lot of freaks would pay a lot for you on the slave markets. Do all kinds of nasty shit to you. And once every single one of your holes has been ravaged, your boys won't even recognize you as their mother anymore. Would you prefer that, Mrs. Tight Lips?"

I put a foot forward, about to step out of hiding, when a strong hand covered my mouth and pulled me behind the barn again. Shortly before pulling my sword, I heard a familiar voice behind me, whispering in my ear. "Stop! You're going to get yourself killed!"

"Celeste! Thank God!" Is what I wanted to say, though all of it only came out muffled as she kept holding my mouth shut.

"I know, I know, I should've called you sooner. There just was no time. Listen, we need a plan. The demon, she wants you, clearly, alive. I don't know why, but we need to use that to our advantage."

"You got something in mind?" I muttered, once again muffled.

She sighed deeply and painfully. "I'm sorry to do this to you, but you have to act as bait. Distract her, however you can. I will strike when you give me a signal. I'm counting on you, Reynald." Celeste left a single, little peck on my cheek before taking her hand off my mouth. And as soon as I turned around, she was gone before I even got a chance to see her.

I put my feelings aside for the moment, there was a hostage rescue at hand.

This time for real, I stepped out of the shadows, interrupting the demon as she put a dagger to Corinthia's throat. She looked over in surprise yet caught herself quickly and returning to a nonchalant, haughty smirk. "Finally decided to show yourself, have you?" She turned to Corinthia, tracing her jawline with the dagger. "See? Couldn't this have been so much easier for both of us? He even showed up out of his own free will. Aren't you lucky?" With a final flick, the dagger left her chin, yet the demon didn't stop holding it in Corinthia's direction.

I slowly drew my sword, spurring the caution of the other succubi. "Let her go, demon! I'm here. That's what you wanted, wasn't it? No need to involve outsiders."

She pursed her lips, almost like she was sulking and clicked her tongue. "Really? Demon? This is already the second time we've met, shouldn't we be on a first name basis by now, Reynald?" Her eyes flashed for a second as she put a hand to her mouth as if she just remembered. "Oh, right! I never DID give you my name, did I? Since we were so rudely interrupted the last time. You have the honor of calling me Sereeva." She postured mockingly as she performed a sarcastic curtsy. Her haughty smile went back to a thin frown as soon as she was done. "And I've come to strike a deal with you."

"Well, Sereeva, care to tell me why I would even consider striking said deal with you?"

She snarled and raised her dagger to Corinthia's throat. "Because if you don't, this poor, dumb farmer is going to fertilize her own fields. Now drop your weapon! Don't you know turning up armed to negotiations is impolite?"

Pointing out the hypocritical statement was beyond pointless. She had me at a disadvantage and knew it damn well. "This is how you spend your time? Harassing civilians and pushing one man into a corner while outnumbering him 20 to 1?" I scoffed, throwing my sword at her feet.

In response, she just nodded to one of her succubi to pick up my weapon and take it away before turning back to me. "Oh, all's fair in love and war. Which we are currently at, in case you have forgotten, paladin." She moved the blade away from Corinthia, but toyed with it enough to communicate the intention of cutting her if need be. "Which brings me to why I'm here. Corria is proving to be a lot harder to besiege than expected. The Demon Lord is expecting results and I am not ready to disappoint her. This, human, is where you come in."

I chortled. "That's rich. How do you expect me to help you here? I'm just one guy."

She ignored my amusement and kept a serious tone. "Well, you're one of their highest ranking generals, outside the secure walls of the city, unarmed and without anywhere to run to. Now lets say I took you hostage. They might not open the gates in return for one single man, but you still have a link to the god that consecrated their lands. It makes it quite difficult to summon a large force here. But with you on our side, we can spoil the lands and open our portals." She smirked, flashing a sharp, canine tooth. "There will be thousands of us."

I felt like a noose was tightening around my neck. More and more I realized that the enemy in front of me was smarter than I gave her credit for. Her presence was dominating and my wavering nerves revealed that all too well. "Y... you can't do that! Do you have any idea how many people are inside that city? It'll be a bloodbath!"

She dramatically put a hand on her chest pretending to be heartbroken. "Oh trust me, it's not what I want either. Imagining all those people, screaming, crying, calling out for the warriors that are supposed to defend them... but can't. It would be horrific. Thankfully, there is one more option. One that still might just convince them to let us resolve this peacefully. That is, if you're going to be cooperative."

"Peacefully..." The mere thought of her actually using that term to describe full scale conquest was laughable. It felt dirty coming from her mouth. "...what do you want from me?"

Her gaze grew cold as though she was trying to pierce my mind. "Where is our little hummingbird, Reynald?"

I tightened my fist at her words. "What?"

"The angel, where is she?"

"You think I'm going to disclose that to you after YOU trying to kill her?"

She chuckled. "Oh please, if I had tried to kill her, she WOULD be dead. No, I had something else in mind for her. You see, killing an angel is pointless, they would be sent back to heaven and in time get resurrected. What IS practical however, is what I did to her. Oh the hex I put on her was painful, agonizing even, but it does not physically harm you. It breaks down your willpower, weakens your mind and soul until you become infinitely more vulnerable to corruption."

My blood froze. "But... to what end? Angels are naturally resistant to temptation and sin."

"That's why you have to instill a desire in them. Once their will is weakened, any outside influence will do, and any temptation that had already been there, will have been enhanced tenfold."

"And you'll gain a new, experienced warrior with a direct link to heaven." I muttered in disbelief as the realization set in.

"Exactly..." she sneered. "...and with your dear little guardian under our control, we have a bargaining chip that Corria won't be able to ignore. Because if they decide to not open the gates then, we will threaten to unleash our little birdie onto heaven, spreading our corruption even further. At that point your people will have to decide between losing one city, or all of heaven. I don't envy your position, but it's the one you chose when you decided to resist us."

I fell to my knees, eyes lowered to the ground. "I can't believe you'd actually do this..."

"I'm a demon, idiot. What the hell DID you expect." She flicked her hair, priding herself on her depravity. "Now go and call her so we can get this over with."

At this moment, I couldn't keep it up anymore and the smile I tried so hard to hold back this entire time crept up on my lips. I sighed. "You're right, you're a demon. I should've expected you to be this short sighted."

The tirade she had prepared got stuck in her throat. "I... what the fuck did you just say to me?"

I rose to my feet and wiped the dirt off. "Well, first off, her name is Celeste. If you ever have the honor of GENUINELY meeting her in battle, you might as well know her name up front. Secondly, you have just played all your cards. You lose."

"What are you playing at, mortal? Why are you so nonchalant about this? I'VE GOT YOU! I hold ALL the cards still!" She was getting more erratic with every word she failed to hold back.

I shook my head. "No... no you don't. You have a hostage, granted, but what is that compared to how dependent you are on ME right now. And unlike you, I've prepared more than a body to hide behind."

Corinthia's eyes flicked between me and Sereeva in confusion. Even she did not know what was going on.

In a fit of panic, the demoness flashed her dagger. "Y...yeah, I DO have a hostage. So you better comply really quick before I slice her throat!"

"So what? You're asking me to sacrifice a whole City for the life of one farmer. Was that your entire plan? Without me, you got nothing!"

Corinthia panicked, silently crying as she feared for her life. I felt terrible to see her like this, but I had to keep it going. I avoided eye contact with her to not break the act.

Getting more and more annoyed, Sereeva seemed to wrack her brain about what game I was playing. "A...are you serious? Are you confused about the situation you're in? I brought a platoon of my soldiers. You are outnumbered! You said so yourself! I can just send literally any one of them and you will be restrained."

I played at being amazed by her suggestion. "Oh yeah, you're right, I am! Wow, and that is much smarter even! Much more direct as well. Shame it's not going to work."

She already had her hand up to give a command when she lowered it again in caution. "Wait, why wouldn't it?"

I shrugged with a smug smirk, acting entirely unbothered. Gladly she could not feel my pulse. "Let's speak seriously then. You've felt the wards I've put on myself already. Stop playing dumb, I could tell. You weren't seriously going to send your allies at me and have them burned by the barriers I've put up. Unlike you, I've had time to prepare before I approached you. Fends off everything. Low ranking demons, curses, spells, all of it."

"You're bluffing."

I crossed my arms defiantly. "Care to try and embarrass yourself?"

She seemed ready to call on her soldiers. The women behind her though seemed very much hesitant. Sereeva's breath grew erratic as she flashed her teeth at me and grunted.

I sighed, tentatively walking from side to side. We both knew she was cornered "Look ,this whole situation is already enough of a farce, don't you think? You've failed to conquer Corria, you failed to kill Celeste and now you can't even manage to keep the upper hand in a hostage situation. From one commander to another: This operation is a total loss. My advice would be for you to go home and kiss your precious demon lord's feet and hope she forgives you for the strategic travesty you produced here." My words were sharp and visibly cutting her pride, just as they were supposed to.

Sereeva's troops looked to their leader, concerned, as she started seething more and more. Her eyes shone a bright red as the anger literally seeped out of her in the form of black miasma. "You... you mortal swine!" A loud thud rang out as she threw Corinthia to the side, clearly seeing no use in her anymore, and postured, pointing toward me in an aggressive stance. "I will tear you apart limb by limb and feed your parts to the crows! Your screams will be loud enough for your guardian angel to hear, no matter how far away she is!"

I opened my arms widely, inviting her to try. "With what? Your spells cannot harm me! Sorry you won't be able to hide behind yet another handicap you conniving, cowardly, shameless failure of a witc..." I fell silent.

Within a blink of a second, Sereeva had dashed toward me in a black cloud of smoke. Her dagger that had so far been untainted by blood, was now firmly embedded in my lower abdomen. She pushed it to the hilt and the curved blade pierced my guts.

She clearly relished in finally shutting me up, moving her lips to my ear, every word dripping with poison and malice as my blood poured over her hand. "Seems like your precious wards weren't enough to protect you from me. Did you really think that I'm not ready to get my hands dirty? I will enjoy every drop I draw out of you. Now scream, beg for mercy and call your Valkyrie before I'll let you bleed out."

I steadied myself against her, breathing heavily as my legs wavered. I felt the wet warmth run down my stomach and legs while the rest of my body grew colder. I weakly looked up at her. Her smug look of superiority as she looked down on me was making the pain even worse than it already was. Yet as our eyes met, her brows furrowed into a deep frown. Because I... was smiling. "Oh don't worry. She's coming alright. You can gloat and posture all you want. I didn't have any wards to begin with. Should've tried your spells while you still could. You need your hands for those after all, right?"

A look of terror wiped every bit of smugness from her face as I grabbed a hold of her wrists, keeping her hands in place. Blindingly bright shackles emerged and locked my arms and hers together. A binding that restricts even the most powerful demons.

"What are you doing? What is this!? Guards! Help me!" She screamed in panic, causing her soldiers to rouse to action.

"Too late." Were the last words I could squeeze out as I let out a loud whistle.

Her eyes turned to the moon, where Sereeva spotted a glint of light and a shadowy figure rapidly approaching her. Her eyes went wide as she thrashed about, trying to get away from me. "No! You've tricked me! I can fix this! Please! We can still negotia...urrrghhhkkk."

Her words were cut short, when a massive lance impaled her. The bindings broke and like on a stake, she was pinned to the ground, hanging limply from the halfway point of the weapon, Sereeva's black blood oozing down the iron and slowly reaching the soil below.

Both of our eyes wandered to the wielder of the weapon. Our reactions to what we saw however, were as opposed as they could be. Sereeva, ready to face her killer, winced and contorted her face in pain up until laying eyes on Celeste. A wide, vindicated grin formed on her lips, while I could do nothing but hopelessly stare and accept the inevitable outcome presented in front of me.

Celeste stood in front of me, her lance firmly gripped and her furious expression burning holes into Sereeva with its stare. Heaving breaths fogged up in the cold night air as she held her sworn enemy at death's door. Her skin had turned completely blue, her hair a snowy white and both her wings, armor and weapons a demonic black. The missing second horn had emerged from her head and her eyes were now both a glowing violet, shining in the darkness. "You will never again hurt the people under my protection! Never again! May god judge you and show no mercy for the sins you have committed!"

Sereeva, short of breath and bleeding profusely, flashed her teeth in a smile, just short of breaking out into laughter, only lacking the air to do so. "Hypocrite. Tasted the forbidden fruit, have we? It seems that in the end... it is still... my win..." Her last words rang out as the final blow of her spite before Sereeva's body turned into black sludge and became a pool of gloppy ooze on the ground.

The other succubi cried out in pain as, without a powerful demon as an anchor, them to consecrated ground, they were forced back into the demon realm. One after the other, they vanished, their voices fading into nothingness.

The battle was won, the night was silent once more and the adrenaline dissipated. Celeste took a deep breath, steadying herself on her lance while I collapsed to the ground.

"REYNALD!" Rapidly, Celeste whipped her head around in shock, tossing her weapon into the dirt to hold me. The dagger, lodged between my entrails, was all but soaked in blood and an unfathomable amount of it seeping into the earth below my feet.

The Valkyrie in front of me, looked nothing like the girl I'd known for so long, yet her tenderness remained unchanged. She held me, as I laid on the ground, resting my head on her lap. The wind blew about us. My mind grew foggy.

"We did it, didn't we? We saved Corria?"

Tears were welling up in her eyes as she combed the hair out of my face. "Yes... yes we did. You saved a lot of lives today, Reynald. You're a credit to our faith and the chief god himself."

"It's a shame I couldn't save yours too." I reached up, stroking her cheek before my arm grew limp. "Whatever we did that caused this, if the night we made love truly was a sin, I want you to know that I regret none of it. I love you, and that'll never change. No matter what the church says, no matter what our god says. Getting to be with you was the briefest, yet happiest time of my life. You're the most valiant, devoted, brave woman I've ever had the honor of fighting with. And if I'm given the chance to stand before god or even before your sisters, I will make sure that they know that as well."

Celeste's tears dripped onto my face from above as she smiled through the pain. "Your soul is too bright to go anywhere but heaven, Reynald. I'll keep making you proud, I promise. And however long it takes, if I one day get to return to heaven, I will find you. I love you too." Even though her silhouette was as dark as the void, I could see her eyes clearly. They shone so bright, even in the darkness, like brilliant amethysts.

Her face moved in closer. And the last thing I felt before fading out of consciousness... were her lips on mine. If this wasn't the gateway to heaven, I don't know what else could compare.

1 month later

Deep in the heart of the city of Corria, there was a cloister, one reserved for the highest of nobles and the most renowned figureheads of the church of the Chief God. It was a sanctum unspoiled by the sin of the world with wonderful gardens, shrines and chapels. It was the resting place for the weary traveling holy men and home to the local priests and cardinals.

And somehow, by the will of the Chief God himself it seemed, I found myself there. Back on Corinthia's farm, I was ready to pass on. To see the heavenly gates and leave this realm. Fate however, seemed to have other plans.

The cloister was home to a ritualistic bathhouse, one filled with baths of herbal remedies, sanctified incense and purifying waters. And as the so-called Vanguard of Corria, me and Celeste were given the right to occupy it all by ourselves.

"You know this bath was specifically drawn for you, right? Going in it together kind of defeats the point." I was playing at being mad, "complaining" about the Valkyrie sitting on my lap as we soaked in the hot, therapeutic water.

Celeste only responded in giggles and leaned back against me. "Oh come on, you wouldn't want to leave me alone in here, would you? We're supposed to watch each other's backs always. Today it's just your turn." She shrugged, making a point of turning her back to me.

I rolled my eyes and broke out in a smile. "Oh come on, you're just using that as an excuse to check up on me!"

With a huff, she turned around and puffed her cheeks. "Can you blame me?!" Her elbow struck my side but I barely felt it from how carefully she did it. "You, mister, almost died a few weeks ago. I just... want to make sure you're healing up right, okay?"

I could never say no to that pouting face of hers. I combed a strand of wet water out of her face as our eyes locked. "I know, I'm taking care of it, promise. But hey, if there is one positive thing out of this, at least now we have matching ones." I laughed, gently touching the jagged scar left on her stomach while Celeste touched mine.

We shared a smile as she looked down at it. "I guess that's something. You do know that the little stunt you pulled back then was stupid though, right? Right?" She scolded me in the same breath she awed at it.

"I've apologized dozens of times already. I know it was stupid but what else was I supposed to do?"

She flicked my nose, taking on a high and mighty pose. "I'm just saying, I'm not carrying you to a healer again if you keep risking your life like that." But quickly, she hid her face in my chest, circling her finger over it as she muttered. "The first time was scary enough."

Yes, as it turned out, after falling unconscious, unbeknownst to me, Celeste decided not to give up on me so easily. She carried my body all the way back to Corria, almost getting killed herself by the guards mistaking her for a demon. It's thanks to her that healers were just in time to revive me and once we told them the whole story about killing Sereeva and ending the siege on Corria, they were ready to do anything in their power to help me recover and to revert Celeste's corruption.

The hot water flowed gently around us as we cuddled. Her soft, blue breasts squished against my chest and her firm, yet squishy butt resting on my lap completed the perfectly comfortable, intimate position we were in. It was a gentle, melty kind of arousal that kept us glued to each other.

I rested my chin atop her white-haired head. "You always were my guardian angel." I whispered huskily, prompting her to face me. Her glazed-over, amethyst eyes invited me to come closer, and we shared a deep kiss. It went further than our lips, our tongues wrestling for control.

My hands rested on her supple ass, running along the dripping grooves and curvature. Underwater, my member started reacting to flesh rubbing against flesh. There's no sin in being aroused by the woman you love, right? Yes, I was sure there wasn't. God wouldn't allow us to keep living together like this if there was. So I didn't hold back, there was no need to.

I squeezed her cheeks, digging my fingers into her skin. It elicited a soft moan, echoing first in my mouth, then the tiled room around us. Her body ground against me as I pulled her in. The water made it easy for us to slide over each other, rubbing both our chests and genitals together in smooth, slippery movements.

Through the thin layer of moisture, I felt her warmth, her skin, her heartbeat, her being. It was the closest to heaven a man like me could ever hope to be.

Down below, my cock was resisting being pushed down by her slit, pushing back up just as resiliently. Her lower lips embraced me, hugging the underside of my shaft. It was so tantalizingly close to penetration it was almost irritating. As it went on, it felt like she was doing it on purpose, just barely keeping me from entering her.

I broke from our kiss, gazing up at Celeste as my breathing grew heavy. "You're teasing me, aren't you?"
She smirked, keeping up the movement of her hips. "Well, what did you expect? You turned me into a bad girl, Reynald. Only got yourself to blame for this." Her voice was husky, teasing and snarky. It tickled my ear in a way it never did before, like she was prodding at a nerve inside of me I didn't know I had.

She continued to grind on me as she also moved a hand down to my crotch. I shuddered a little when in addition to sliding her pussy over my cock, she coiled her hand around its tip, rubbing it over the swollen, exposed head. Her slender fingers glided from shaft to glans and back again. Over and over, jerking me off.

It may not have been as good as sex itself, but man with how deftly she moved her hands, it was damn close. The water ebbed and flowed as she ground against me, moving her hands in sync with the movements of her hips. It was hot, stimulating but also so incredibly frustrating with how close it was to the real thing but wasn't.

With trembling lips I looked up at Celeste, a smug grin on her labored face. Yet under all the haughtiness I could tell she was waiting for something. Like she wanted me to do something.

Prompted by this perceived call to action, I was no longer ready to let her take the lead alone. Celeste was too busy focusing on her movements to notice me slipping my hand between us, down past her navel and to the top of her slit.

"Eeep! Nghhh...!" With a quick jolt shooting through her body, she finally noticed what I was doing but it was too late to retaliate. I pressed my fingers down on her clit and started some grinding of my own. Her petite little nub circled around my fingers, trying to escape them. It was cute really.

In between my knuckles, prodding it with the tips, I played with it to my heart's content, each time evoking luscious moans from the woman I loved but had had the upper hand in teasing so far.

She buckled under the pleasure, barely able to keep up her gyrations. Her face was tinged with a dark shade of blue. A shade that was all to similar to the reds and pinks in which she blushed before her transformation.

"You're supposed to be a bad girl huh? Don't think you got the grit for that. Just look how sensitive you are. Not really the kind of evil material I'm used to dealing with." I mocked her, lightly pinching her little button between my index and middle finger eliciting yet another high pitched yelp.

For a moment, she stopped in her tracks completely, barely able to look at me from the rebellious streak that didn't allow her to back out. "Hrmph!" And then she huffed, pressing her body as hard against me as she could. Her arms locking around my neck and her chin firmly planted on my shoulder. She even managed to pin my arm in place between our bodies. She resumed grinding on my cock, more vividly and ,as if in protest, with more force. My member was thoroughly sandwiched between her folds but she expertly STILL avoided penetration.

It was maddening. I could feel the pressure mounting, my shaft was already twitching after all of this prolonged assault. All I could think about was the unwanted oncoming climax. It would stain the water when I desperately wanted to cum inside of her.

And at that moment, just as my mind was at the breaking point of holding back my ejaculation, she suddenly whispered in my ear. Her hot breath as well as her voice, dripping with sexual succor, tickled my ear. "Look who's the sensitive one now. You really want to cum right now, don't you? Do it, cum for me. Think of what you want and TAKE it! You deserve this! Claim me!"

My blood ran hotter than the steamy water as all of it rushed to my crotch. The last thing I felt before my senses went white, was the slow dragging of Celeste's tongue over my ear from the lobe all the way to the top.

I reached Nirvana, my balls tightened and...

Our moans rang out in the bathroom. Though something was wrong. While Celeste's sweat covered face was positively beaming with elation and her body shivered in climax, mine was twisting in pain and my moans weren't those of pleasure either.

Oh Celeste certainly was fully enjoying her orgasm to the fullest, yet I wasn't granted it. Looking down, I saw her hand once again wrapped around my shaft like before, but her thumb was firmly placed on my urethra and pushing down hard. My shaft helplessly twitched as the ejaculation it was preparing for didn't come.

After this wave of unpleasant anticlimax ebbed down, I rested my head on the edge of the bath, staring at the ceiling. And when I finally came to, I looked up at her blissful face of relief while I was underneath her, seething and glaring holes in her. "Wha... what was that about? Wh... why?" I asked her, out of breath yet fired up.

She seemed confused for a second and then looked down at her hand. Acting as if she hadn't even been aware of it, she quickly released her grasp as her eyes opened in pitifully feigned surprise. "W...was I doing that while you came? I... I didn't even notice, I swear!"

I finally snapped and grabbed her jaw, pulling her face down to my level for her to face me eye to eye. Now her eyes shot open sincerely as I frowned at her, sparking a bout of panic. "Cheeky, aren't we?"

Through her smooshed cheeks, she stumbled over her words. "I...I'm sorry! I didn't mean to..."

"Not only am I your superior officer but you are supposed to be MY guardian angel. Do you know what that means?"

She fell silent as her cheeks flushed in embarrassment. "I..."

"What. Does. It. Mean?" I said more strictly, locking eyes with her which she tried her hardest to avoid.

She closed her eyes shut as a last resort to escape my gaze. "It means I... I belong to you, Reynald."

"Na-ah-ah... you're forgetting the superior part again."

"I.. belong to you, Sir." She flinched, expecting further scolding when I loosened my grip and cupped her cheek instead. Gently, tenderly letting her know that I intended no harm.

When she opened her eyes, I was right in front of her, our lips close enough to graze each other. "Exactly." I whispered, closing in for the fulfilled kiss. She melted onto me, draping herself limply over my body and meeting my tongue midway. After we tangled for a few, soft moments, I once again looked her in the eyes, still serious, but tender this time. "That's why I don't get why you can't simply tell me when you want something."

"Huh?" She muttered, slightly shocked as though she'd been caught doing something naughty.

"Look, I see what you're doing here. But if you wanted me to be a bit more rough with you, you could have just asked."

She went beet red, covering her face with her hands yet peeking through her fingers. "I swear, I didn't even do it on purpose! I just did it without even thinking!"

I raised my hands to calm her down and laughed a little. "I just said it's fine!"

She let out a deflated sigh, dropping her hands into the water before hugging herself. "I just... I thought it would be selfish to ask you while you're still recovering. I don't want you to hurt yourself for my sake." Her pointy tail was sloshing around behind her. "I'm a terrible excuse for a Valkyrie."

A somber smile crept up on my lips as I rubbed her cheek with my thumb. "Hey, I'm fine. I haven't complained so far, have I?" We shared a smile as I pulled her into a hug. It was nice feeling our hearts beat in tandem through the steady rhythm in our chests. "Thanks though, for looking out for me. You're doing your job just fine." She settled down a little as she rested her cheek on my chest... "However..." when I called her to attention once more.

She was faced with a a sadistic grin once she faced me again and her anxiety visibly spiked up again. She wasn't out of the woods yet. "...just because I understand, doesn't mean I can let you go this easily. You HAVE been bad after all."

"Reynald?" She asked with quivering breath.

"That's Sir Reynald to you!" I admonished her. "Turn around!"

Stiff as a board, she followed suit, whining as she did. "B...but I won't be able to see your face anymore!"

"Rights revoked!" I stated clearly, locking her arms behind her back before forcefully pulling her against me. In the position we were in at that point, her back rested on my upper body and my cock was purposely springing up between her legs. It rested on top of her slit as I started rhythmically grinding it up and down. "Look down!"

Following my order, she laid eyes on my dick, swollen an twitching on top of her cunt. "Yes, I... I see it." She mumbled.

"He's hurting, you know. He's in pain from how you treated him before. Don't you want to apologize?"

"I'm s...sor..." She turned her head, trying to say it to my face.

"Nope..." I grabbed her chin turning her face back to the front. "Face rights revoked, remember? Look at the one you're apologizing to."

Facing the head of my cock pointing at her again, she overcame her shame and started wincing in embarrassment as she spoke. "I'm sorry, Sir. I didn't mean to hurt you like this."

I smirked behind her, whispering to her. "How are you going to make up for it, Celeste?"

She knew exactly what I was going for and played along as she forced the words past her lips. "I'll soothe him. I'll let him use my... my..."

"Say it." I hushed into her ear.

Her heartbeat skyrocketed. I could feel it pounding through her back. "My...my pussy. I'll let him use my pussy until he feels better."

"Then raise your hips, soldier." Tightening my grip on her restrained arms with one hand, I trailed my other along her side, enticing her to move her body. Following suit, she raised out of the body just enough to line up our genitals.

She closed her eyes, preparing for penetration.

"Ready?" I asked teasingly.

"For you? Always." She answered resolutely.

"Good girl." I kissed her neck. She buckled and dropped onto my crotch. In one single movement, my cock was lodged inside her and the fun began.

With an audible moan from both of us, we started moving. Raising and lowering her hips, I welcomed her by thrusting upwards. It was the heavenly moment I'd been longing for and finally I was granted the slippery wet pleasure I craved. Her insides squirmed around my flesh, sucking on my skin every time I entered and pulled out like millions of little kisses.

Her voice was sweet like honey, whining and gasping for air. It was intoxicating to hear. The ebb and flow of the water did nothing to lessen the fiery heat between us.

Celeste's wings flapped pitifully , barely having enough room to spread to their full span, sandwiched between our bodies. It was cute how she whimpered and tried her best to focus on her hips even though she was being rammed into constantly herself.

The few times we got to be on our own were so far between that I was not willing to waste the moments we had. I fucked her like there was nothing else in the world for me to do. I wanted to encompass every part of her and her to encompass all of me. I guess this is what people meant when they talked about becoming one when making love.

I tried to keep up a hard front, but the more we went on, the more I broke. Finally, I grunted. "You can look again! Look at me, Celeste. I want to see you!"

Resting against me, Celeste didn't waste a moment. She craned her neck, our faces meeting sidewards. Our heavy breathing was interrupted when our lips locked, letting no air escape as we kept fucking.

Kissing wasn't enough, being inside her wasn't enough, it all was never enough. I kept her in a lock, but moved my other hand to her breast, first massaging and groping it before kneading her flesh and nipple. I groped her to my hearts content, letting the heavy mount glide and squeeze between my fingers. Her nipples were erect and her areolas turned slightly dark blue from how rough I was with them.

Her tongue was sloppily dancing over mine retreating several times to actually allow her to breathe and focus. I satiated my hunger for her body with her saliva, chasing her every time either her lips or pussy tried to escape me. I was going wild, mentally and physically.

"I love you, Sir! I love you so, so much. I fucking love you!" Celeste's mind was beginning to melt away. Her words were slurred and she kept repeating herself. She belonged to me. I had said it before but seeing the manifestation of that in the flesh in front of me was a whole different level. She was mine to corrupt, to make love... to break. It was a sadistic yet caring kind of love I had for her. It made me want to do things to her that I wouldn't have forgiven myself for in the past and that God won't forgive me for now.

"You love everything about me, right? My body, my cock, my mind, my soul?"

"Yesh! Everyshing!" She slobbered, drool dripping past our mouths.

"Even the air I breathe?"

She seemed confused but too delirious to process it. "What? I mean... yes, but why?"

I locked lips with her, pushing the question out of her mind... and with nowhere else for it to go, I blew down her mouth and filled her lungs with air. Her eyes bulged out in surprise when I parted from her and she suddenly felt my hand clamber from her chest to her throat. "Then keep it in!"

Whatever she tried to say next was choked out of her. I gripped tight, enough to restrain her breathing but barely enough for her to not suffocate. Then I started fucking her harder. She could hardly react when I slammed my hips into her, nothing more than erratic, short breaths as a response. Her eyes glazed over as she took it, the drool just driveling down her chin.

Down below however was another story. Her pussy was clamping down even though her legs were limp. She was inconceivably hot inside smothering my cock with slimy, sticky kisses. She was drenched, and using the water as an excuse was no longer feasible.

Her chest, her face and stomach were turning darker, radiating with warmth. Her arousal must have been enough to make her mind switch off. It felt like she wasn't mentally there anymore, only smiling, drooling and drawing in shallow breaths, whatever she could get in anyways.

I looked into her eyes while she was in this state, they were dark and empty, yet filled with love when she looked back at me. This form of hers... I could get used to it. The words finally manifested on my lips. "You're so fucking beautiful like this! I love you too, Celeste. You're mine, my little guardian angel. And you will always be."

As affirmation of her awareness, her tongue met mine as we mingled once more while down below the precum was drifting through the water around us, my cock thrusting into her barely reactive yet all too greedy body.

"I'll fill you with my love too. I'll drench you in it inside and out. Until you are dyed more than just blue and black." I was getting to my limit and even though her reactions were minimal, I could tell that she was too. Her legs and her abdomen were twitching, jerking around already, waiting for the signal that I would cum with her.

Her face went slack, her tongue lolling out of her mouth, her hair messily draped over my shoulder.
Her body rocked a few more times as I kept thrusting. A few more, slower but more forceful, all the way to the hilt. I was going for her depths, prodding her womb. I was fully aware and intent on the possibility of knocking her up. I didn't care anymore, in fact I cherished the thought.

One more, one more... deep... hard...

I gritted my teeth, flexing every muscle of my body as I filled her with my seed. When it hit her baby room, she finally snapped out of her daze yet her breath was still stuck in her throat when she tried to scream. All the way to the climax, my hand clenched around her neck. It was the first time I actually choked her hard enough to completely stifle her breath. Gladly I was aware enough for it to only last a few seconds.

When my hand at last went limp as well, Celeste sucked in air for a good while. She coughed as her body collapsed on top of mine. We were both spent while my cock kept pumping more and more cum into her, enough that little strands of it started floating around our crotches. My balls scrunched up, making up for the wasted effort before.

Then, when finally all was shot and we refused to move one more muscle, quiet fell over us. Nothing but heavy breathing and sweating.

Several moments went by. Minutes that we wanted to last eternities.

Then we cracked and laughed to ourselves. Celeste's heartfelt laughter rumbling on my chest was all I wanted to feel for the rest of my life.

I hugged her close, resting my head on top of hers as she nuzzled my neck. In a moment of self awareness, I checked on her. "I didn't go too hard on you, did I? You alright? Do you hurt anywhere?"

She pursed her lips and, with her index finger, ran circles over my chest. "Hmm... I dunno. The fact you dare lay a hand on a servant of heaven like this is scandalous enough already. But assaulting her like this? Aren't you ashamed, my lord?" She giggled, biting her knuckle cheekily.

I rolled my eyes when the last word she said registered in my mind. "What? My lord? Look, I know the "Sir" act was a bit high and mighty but I'm no lord." I chuckled, writing it off as a joke of hers.

"Hmm... maybe not yet." She muttered under her breath, unusually sincere about it.

"What? What do you mean?"

She turned to me, earnestly looking up at me while placing her hand on my chest. "I always knew. Ever since way back when. The day I was assigned to you. You were meant for something special. I didn't know what back then, but then I spent years by your side. Doesn't matter whether in battle... or now like this. You're destined for greatness, a leader to your people. God can only do so much and you... you make change happen. You do things he can't."

I got flustered, unsure what to say to that. A part of me felt shame of even considering myself this praiseworthy, but another felt like what she was saying were things I already thought myself. "I... I don't think I'm worthy of that, Celeste."

"You are. In the time we have fought together, we protected countless people, saved Corria... and you saved me, one of Gods own creations. Those were all things that you did, not him. Sometimes... sometimes I even consider you more reliable than him."

"Celeste, what you are saying is..."

"...heresy, I know. But aren't we already heretics? You for letting me live and me for denying you a martyrs death? But we've had each others backs... while he didn't."

I was taken aback. "Maybe you're right. Corria would've fallen if it weren't for us. But if God won't look out for us... what do we do?"

Celeste held my hand, locking her fingers with mine. "What we've done until now. Depend on ourselves."

I pondered the thought. Corria was under his jurisdiction, yet everything he provided to protect us failed. The consecrated grounds, the church, our faith... Even his doctrine would have forsaken one of his own warriors.

We made the choices we did despite him. Every choice that defied him was one that either saved people or brought us happiness.

I gave Celeste a confident nod before kissing the top of her head. "I don't know if I can, but Corria is my home and I'll defend it if God won't. I will lead my people to freedom of corruption, death and sorrow. Without his help if need be."

She smiled to herself as she hugged me, her tail swinging happily from side to side. "You'll have mine, my lord." She squeaked as happy tears filled her eyes.

I don't know what the future holds. If God actually saw what we did, if he cares or if he will abandon us for our perceived "sins".

But if "all caring" gods like him would see me and Celeste split apart... maybe they were never worth listening to in the first place.

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Hey guys, what's up. It me! IMPORTANT UPDATE!

Finally after long deliberation here we are again. Hope you enjoyed the story.

So, this time I have two questions for you.

1: The poll for the next monster girl will be up on my profile after this chapter goes up. Get in quick so your vote can be counted. It's a pretty wide mix this time.

2: This one is for the comments on this chapter. I am at a pretty big crossroads. Something that will possibly alter these stories in a pretty significant way. So far all of these MGE stories were written like a personal encounter in first person. Now I want to ask you. Do you want this series to continue in first person, writing it from the perspective of the person that encountered the monster and his experience in dealing with it.

OR

Would you prefer these stories in third person? I would still keep the framing device of this being an "encounter compendium" but just recorded in the detached third person involving the monster girls perspective, sensations and feelings as well as the humans.

Let me know by leaving a review or send me a PM with your preference.

That's it for now. Hopefully I'll be back soon. I want to put a lot more nuance and depth into these stories, hope it showed in this one.

Have a great day, leave your feedback and thank you for reading.