Random futa things

by Jokiba

Just as the title says pure smut

129. Incubus Erika

Incubus Erika

SamsonHF

Summary:

The smug incubus Erika looks a hell of a lot like a girl. Why, you ask? Some naughty little girls like getting it from another girl with a big surprise, and Erika is all too pleased to oblige...For a price. *Always* at a price. What, then, will happen when a paladin sworn to purify and exorcise succubi begins the hunt - and doesn't care one whit that she's really a boy? Why, he becomes an enormous pain in her ass, of course...

Notes:

Hey, peeps! Thanks for coming by and checking out another male/futa piece - this one features a big sub/little dom combination with a power-bottom dom! 3

Incubus Erika has a special place in my heart. It wants to go into lofty subjects like God, one's relationship with God, homophobia, unjust hostility/punishment, and so on. Everything within this story is sourced from or inspired by things I've directly seen, felt, thought, or witnessed first-hand occurring with another. The writing style's a little rough compared to my more modern stuff, but I hope you can overlook that and appreciate the piece as it is. 3

Please, enjoy the story!

Chapter 1: The Hunt Begins

Chapter Text

Incubus Erika

Part I ‑ "Lost Soul"

By: Jesse Racine AKA Samson

Original Date Written: September 2, 2016

Sweat glistened on her face. Her chest rose and fell in the harsh gasps sprinkled throughout her panting. Her fingers tightened at the bed sheets, helplessly clenching at her sides. Here it came, again: the dream. The same sort of dream that had plagued her every other night for the last two weeks. Her sleeping mind made for easy prey to all sorts. Her family was all terrified, and for very good reason. The dreams always seemed so real, and in the morning, she'd undoubtedly remain bedridden with exhaustion, just like every other instance. Golden eyes flashed in her mind. Full, pouty lips puckered up in a kiss, glossy with pink lipstick. Slender hands with long, carefully manicured fingernails came up to collarbones, her black nail polish starkly contrasting her creamy skin tone. The hands came down, sweeping over the swells of her-

The young woman bolted upright in bed, gasping for air as she broke out of the dream. No. She didn't want to see that. She needed to sleep, she couldn't keep having her nights ruined, like this! Why did the thoughts always pervade her dark hours, now? When she looked up, her blood ran cold. Her balcony door had been left open. Her jaw clenched up as her eyes steadily widened. No. No, no, no. She never left it open. What was happening? Who was there? The moon was in rare form that night, casting a pale glow in through the largely glass doors, two-thirds of the white, heavenly circle peeking into view over the balcony railing. Stars twinkled in the sky like hundreds of tiny diamonds, sprinkled across a black felt handkerchief. The serene beauty almost persuaded her to rest and just forget all about the opened door, and yet...Some small shred of discomfort kept her from giving in, keeping her alert for that extra crucial moment.

When a faint giggle came drifting in through the door, seemingly on the very wind itself, the young woman sucked in a harsh gasp, her jaw falling open as her eyes widened. She kicked against her bed, scrambling back as far as she could underneath the covers, crashing her back against the headboard. Out of thin air, two golden eyes, glowing like hot coals, materialized in the air over the balcony. Just a moment later, a surreally disembodied grin followed suit, and then, a proper body to accompany them both. The woman nearly screamed. It was the her. The same woman from her dream, the temptress that had been haunting her. The demoness slowly took a step forward, then sashayed her other leg forward, bouncing her hips as she stepped into the luxurious bedchambers.

Making a show of slowly shaking her head, she moved her lips with dramatic exaggeration as she cooed "Someone's been a bad, bad girl..." The woman's pupils shrank to pinpricks at the taunt. She pinched her arm. Nothing changed. This was real. The demoness grinned, raising an eyebrow at the entertaining attempt to "wake up," as it were. She put her hands to her curvy hips, purring hungrily as her eyes shifted about the bedroom. Nice...Expensive furniture, lots of porcelain and artwork...Lots of valuable yet meaningless drivel typical of the girls in this part of the city. Erika could've done worse, for the night. The rich and pampered always had the most debased fantasies, locked away inside.

The demoness had a short coiffure of blazing red locks, with her long, straight bangs framing either side of her face to just past her jaw. At the back of her head, her hair was a bit wavier, flowing down to the nape of her neck in a wild river of flame. There could be no question of her demonic nature; small horns delicately protruded from the crown of her skull, sticking out from under her crimson hair. The horns kept close to her head as they curved out towards her back, then sharply curled back around towards her face, stopping just above her ears. As befitting any sex-oriented demon, Erika's face was positively beautiful, gorgeous like no mortal woman could ever hope to be.

Her golden, slitted eyes were sultry, smouldering, seemingly never more than half open. She wore a thick layer of black eyeliner around them to make the gold stand out more clearly, accompanied by quite a bit of black eyeshadow, making her thin, crimson eyebrows and thick, plentiful eyelashes all the more noticeable. Following her slender nose down, one would find her sensual mouth ready to whisper anything one desired - pouty lips covered in pink lipstick, having just the right amount of plumpness, always seeming oh-so-kissable to all of her victims. Not a single flaw marred her beautiful, satiny skin, besides a tiny little black beauty mark just at the side of her cheekbone, just under the outside corner of her left eye. A woman with even half of Erika's good-looks was born on the human world only once in a blue moon, and she damn well knew it.

She was short, likely somewhere around five to five and a half feet, although the horns of bone protruding from her ankles to act as infernal high heels helped make up for her diminutive, unimposing stature. The demoness wore a thick leather collar, with the fastening located just at the nape of her neck for ease of removal. At the front of collar, meanwhile, a metal-lined opening in the shape of a heart could be seen, exposing how her throat tensed whenever she swallowed. She had on a black fishnet tank top, lacking both sleeves and cropped at the ribs to expose her lean midriff. With no brassiere to speak of, the fishnet top very thoroughly exposed Erika's next most strikingly visible feature: her enormous bust, likely anywhere around E-cups. Each pale globe was nearly the size of her own head, almost always dwarfing the naughty little girls she preyed upon.

Not only that, but that silver barbell piercing she had in her left nipple was glaringly obvious, entirely exposed to all wandering eyes through the open material of her tank top...It always seemed to excite, and it looked like tonight would be no exception. However, Erika's hourglass figure didn't stop at massive, bouncing mounds, crisscrossed in black by her tight fishnets. Oh, no. She was better than just that. She had a lean, narrow waist with faintly defined abs, while her hips flared out nice and wide, betraying even from the front her scandalously swollen derriere. Her big ass was so cushiony, so over-padded and bouncy, that she could get even the most prudish nun to beg for a face-sitting...And Erika would simply have to grin as she said no. Not even the dirtiest girl was ever in any position to make demands of Erika.

Around her waist, the demoness wore a black latex miniskirt, a red leather belt cinched around her wide hips. Her long legs and thick thighs were sheathed almost all the way up to the crotch in black fishnet stockings, kept raised by rather conspicuous garter belt straps, sticking out from underneath her miniskirt. She wore nothing on her feet, quite clearly exposing her bone heels and painted toenails, each cute little toe ending in a black stripe to match her long fingernails. On her belly, near a hip, she had a tiny tattoo in the shape of two cherries still on the stem...Perhaps her coy little clue to her true nature. Utterly unnecessary. One could figure out what she was simply by looking down.

Her miniskirt was so short, it hardly covered her ass at all, covering her thick, jiggling cheeks so narrowly that one wrong step could have half a cheek peeking out from under the hem. By the same token, the miniskirt barely concealed her front...And, unlike her ass, the front did poke out, almost completely. Bulging out from under the hem of the black, latex miniskirt was a white pair of cotton panties packed tight with a big, round bulge, globular with Erika's "big secret," the secret all these naughty little girls always drooled over like lechers: Erika was no succubus. Don't let the feminine beauty, breasts, and bubble butt fool you. She was an incubus. Erika was nothing if not well-endowed in all things, whether it be her bust, her backside, or...

Stretching out from her shoulder blades, a pair of infernal wings graced Erika's back, bat-like in appearance with a black, membrane-like skin stretching between the rows of cartilage lining her wingspan. A thick, fleshy tail, coloured red and about as girthy as one of her arms, trailed out from the base of her spine, sticking out overtop her miniskirt until it ran down to her ankles. The tail narrowed out as it went on until it ended at a tapered, spaded point, swaying left and right in carefully measured strokes, helping her maintain her balance on her heels. The incubus carried nothing with her. She had no weapons, no accessories, no hellfire in her hands or creeping shadows in her wake. Nothing to instill terror, nothing to horrify, nothing to express domination over her victims. She didn't need to. The only tool she needed was sex, and every human was vulnerable.

The young woman in the bed shut her eyes tight as Erika approached, a cold sweat making her face slick with moisture. Under her breath, she shakily repeated "It's not real, it's not real, it's not real..." Erika raised her eyebrows and grinned again, showing off oversized incisors in a toothy grin."I'm as real as you want me to be, baby. Don't bother trying to fight me...Actually, do fight me. That way, I can make things simpler for us both." The girl opened her eyes, her mouth hanging open as she watched the incubus, her eyes darting up, down, up, way down. Erika looked to the side and grinned as her tail came up by her shoulder, bending with prehensile grace until she reached a hand up and stroked her fingers across the underside, trailing her fingertips across the spaded tip. She gave a hungry chortle, then turned her eyes back to her victim.

When she raised her knee and set it down against the foot of the bed, the girl's breathing escalated as she built up the nerve to scream for help. Erika clicked her tongue and slowly shook her head, slitted golden eyes never leaving the girl's face. As the other knee came up and she began crawling across the bed, she slowly warned "Ah ah ah...I wouldn't do that, if I were you. They won't see me. They'll think you're crazy." Erika stopped grinning, bringing her lips back together in a playfully contrite grimace. Just barely tilting her head to the side in a puny shrug, she added "Besides...Would you really want them to see you with me?" The girl's eyes dropped to the edge of Erika's miniskirt. That big, fat, round bulge just kept sticking out, the shorter, more narrow bulge resting overtop...Slowly growing...

Erika grinned at where the girl's eyes went. It was always the same. Sometimes they were in denial. Sometimes they weren't. Sometimes they fought back...Sometimes, they didn't. In the end, they always gave in, every single last one of them. One way or the other, she got what she wanted, and this girl had been a steady source of life force for multiple incubi before her...Only, this was the first time the girl had managed to stay awake for it, evidently, and just in time for Erika's first visit. Convenient. Intervention from the forces that be, evidently. It was a fairly common phenomena. Some do-gooder with wings and too much time on their hands trying to offer the poor humans the chance to fight back, to resist, elevating their consciousness just as Erika arrived to satiate her hunger.

It was annoying, but really? It also made it more entertaining. Overpowering someone while aware was more fun than passive feeding...And they could never resist for long. Erika crawled right up to the girl's feet, watching the way her eyes kept uncontrollably dropping to Erika's cleavage, watching the way her enormous breasts hung in her fishnet top, swaying with every little movement of her body. With a grin, Erika quietly teased "Watch the eyes, girly...Don't they call that the "male gaze?"...Guess it's not just limited to men, eh?...Guess it applies to any little girl who likes tits, too." The girl's nostrils flared. Wide-eyed, she rapidly shook her head, practically hyperventilating as she hissed "I...I don't like girls, demon! G-Get away from me! I'll scream, I swear!"

Erika's eyes narrowed from half-closed to horizontal slits. Grinning, showing off her teeth again, she held back a chuckle as she said "First of all, you're lying, and I'd know. Second of all...I'm not a girl. Why don't we see what you really want?" Erika opened her eyes, wider than the girl had ever seen them. The gold in her irises began to intensify, glowing, burning impossibly like hot coals against the white-hot flame of her creamy face. The girl's expression of terror began to go slack, relaxing as she sank into the incubus' mesmerizing eyes. Erika lightly shrugged her shoulders as she reached out her arm from the girl's feet, extending outwards until she could press her thumb against the girl's forehead. The demoness lightly raised her eyebrows, then cooed "I won't judge you. I've seen it all, done it all. You girls can't surprise me, anymore..."

The girl gasped, her eyes rolling back. Erika's mind flashed to the stars, even as her body remained rooted in place. The girl's sexual energy, unfulfilled and locked away, was poured into Erika, laid bare for her to see. All her darkest fantasies were clearly defined and listed for her to peruse at her leisure. Girls. Girls taller than her. Her friend Marceline. The way Marceline's tits had looked in that blue sweater. Big, firm cocks. Her family finally finding out she was gay. Marceline with a big cock and fat balls. Someone forcing herself onto her. Someone making her rim them. Crying in pleasure as someone pounds into her snatch hard enough to leave her sore. Being spanked by mommy for having such naughty thoughts so often. Marceline jerking off into her face until she coats her in a cupful of sticky lust. Waking Marceline up by sneaking under the covers and sucking off her morning wood. Girls, girls, girls!

Erika giggled to herself as she slipped her hand back, letting her eyes close until they were smouldering, again. The girl snapped out of her stupor just in time to hear Erika purr "Marceline, huh? I should pay her a visit, too..." "No! Help!" The girl tried sitting up as she screamed, but Erika moved with inhuman speed, grabbing her by the throat tight enough to make the woman peep. Raising her eyebrows, Erika slowly shook her head, her puffy lips barely moving as she quietly remarked "Now, listen here. You have something I need - I have something you want. It's a fair trade." She opened her eyes to the size of dinner plates, again. The poor girl's eyes widened as drool ran down her chin. The visions of sex Erika poured into her mind was all the appetizer she needed. It was more potent than adrenaline, more vivid than the best art. It was carnality, raw and distilled at once, personalized to her individual tastes.

When she leaned in and kissed her victim, the deal was sealed. The magic in Erika's pink lipstick practically had the girl gushing, right there on the spot. She was helpless to resist.

It didn't take long before the girl had long stopped caring about whether or not anyone could hear her moaning - she had been dying for her love of girls to stop being a forbidden secret, after all. Erika, for her part, had already fed. She didn't care if the rest of the family could hear the fleshy slap-slap-slap of her crotch against the girl's, or of her heavy, nearly apple-sized balls slapping the girl's ass every time she hilted her. The door to the bedroom had been thrown open, about forty minutes in...Earlier than Erika had hoped, but fate was fickle, sometimes. When the father and the head butler had started banging on the door and calling the girl's name, Erika had done her best to finish up, but she just hadn't had that extra minute she'd need to pop her cork inside this little human. Oh, well. Maybe next time.

When that door came bursting open, Erika was delighted to hear the father nearly scream. There was his sweet little girl, barely out of her teens, pale and sweaty on her bed with her arms spread out to her sides, looking exhausted and out of her wits. Another woman, a demoness, was holding his baby girl up by her limp legs, pounding into her sacred nether bits so deep, the girl's stomach bulged every time Erika pummelled her cervix, somehow forcing her to swallow the entire ten inches, against all laws of nature. Erika looked over with a wicked grin, her eyebrows shooting up. That's right, old man! Your daughter's a fucking slut! She's a slut for girls! Just watch!

Erika let go of a leg, slapped her hand down against the girl's quim, and sent her convulsing into yet another orgasm. The girl weakly called for her father's aid, and it finally spurred both he and his butler to draw their swords, racing towards the bed in nothing but their pajamas. Erika laughed and jumped away from the bed, her bat-like wings beating up such an intense blast of air that it nearly sent the two men bowling over. Erika turned around in the air and shot back out through the open balcony door, her hourglass silhouette steadily growing smaller and smaller against the backdrop of stars. Somewhere in the distance behind herself, she heard the father racing out onto the balcony, swearing bloody vengeance. It only made Erika cackle. Yeah, sure. Let's see how far you get with that, bud. This hadn't been her first rodeo.

She wasn't done for the night. Not by a long shot. In the poor part of town, she found another girl, another naughty little thing with a penchant for girls with something extra. This one was more alone, less likely to have anyone running to her defence. Just like the last, Erika cornered her in her bedroom, mesmerized her, and dipped into her mind. Some of her kinks were trite, others, inspired. Big, soft boobs with puffy areolae. Thick, curly pubic hair. Pre-cum beading at the tip of a long, thick cock. Teacher reaching under her desk to touch her through her panties. Teacher's skirt rising as her fat cock grows. Teacher ordering her to finger her own ass and stretch herself out in preparation. Fat asses swallowing thongs. Teacher sitting on her face during detention.

With a flash, Erika had visions of sex playing before the girl's very eyes. In an instant, she saw all of her deepest fantasies playing out simultaneously, hitting her with the things she had only dreamed of: the sights, the sounds...The scents. She tumbled like a pack of cards, after that. Erika fed well, and even had the time to plug the girl's quim with her unholy seed before slipping away into the night. It was risky to hit too many targets in one night, but Erika was nothing if not a glutton. When it was this easy, could she really be faulted some indulgence? No, of course not. "Do as thou wilt." The decree had always been so clear. She gave these girls memories to satisfy their lonely nights for months, if not years - was feeding off of their life force such a raw deal? She found one more, an older woman, one who already had a family. Her's were the most deliciously perverse fantasies of all.

Tits dribbling milk. Holding her daughter to her breast to feed her. Easing her head further down to nurse at mommy's long, fat, aching prick. Taking her daughter's virginity. Secretly jerking off into her daughter's food. Sucking off the neighbour's pet dog. Getting mounted by the neighbour's dog until she shoots cum to the floor. Sneaking into her daughter's room in the middle of the night and quietly waking her up with deep anal sex. Gagging on a cock even bigger than her's as her daughter watches. Erika could only laugh at the number of skeletons in this woman's closet. When she struck the woman's senses with her visions of sex, the woman helplessly climaxed over and over again until she was insensate. Erika didn't even bother fucking her as she fed.

Once she was sated, she simply slipped away, leaving the woman to the guilt the morning would bring. The aftermath was none of Erika's business or concern. She didn't force anything new onto anyone - she only showed them what they legitimately wanted to see, deep down inside. If they couldn't handle the truth, then that was their own damn fault. Before the sun could rise and her cover of darkness were stripped, she returned to her temporary retreat on the human world, flying through the night sky until she found the cave near the center of the lush, quiet forest. Her wings beating hard enough to rustle the leaves on a nearby tree, she touched down roughly enough that her bone heels briefly bit deep into the earth, making her grunt in annoyance before pulling them back up with quick jerks.

She turned and, eyebrows raised high with a weary expression on her face, she gave a great gust of a sigh. With a stretch backwards, she groaned and cracked her back, tiredly smacking her lips as she walked for the cave mouth. It had been a good night, a filling night, but she always needed more. It never lasted long. Another meal was always required, another fix, no different than a family sitting down to their dinner table, every night. That her sustenance came at another's personal expense did nothing to trouble her, anymore. Had it ever? She caused no permanent harm. She presented a fair trade in exchange. She only did what she needed to in order to survive...That it was fun in equal measure was the main perk of the job. Three in one night didn't happen often, and so, feeling sleepy and contented on the extra life force she had greedily gorged upon, she resigned herself to another day of rest.

A rustle in the trees towards her left had her stopping dead in her tracks. Her golden, slitted eyes went wide and alert, her brow furrowing deep as she looked over. The rustle came again. Her brow sank deeper. Whoever that was, they weren't doing a particularly good job at sneaking up on her. She turned to openly face the incoming foe, putting her hands to her wide, shapely hips as she cocked out a leg. Within a couple seconds, someone was delicately brushing away a tree branch, then stepping out into the open. She stared intently, brazenly standing there, utterly unintimidated by the prospect of being discovered out in the open. She could simply compel them into forgetting she was there, or into failing to even see her, at all. It took some concentration, but she could do it.

The instant he saw her, he stopped dead in his tracks, and yet, to her confusion, he didn't seem frightened, as if he weren't at all intimidated by her patently unnatural appearance. He should've been, she bitterly believed, making it more than a bit damaging to her ego to witness otherwise. In the dark, her silhouette was clearly monstrous, with big, featherless wings, horns, swishing tail...And curves, oh yes, big curves. Perhaps that was what had him intrigued? Hmm...Well, sadly for him, she was an incubus, not a succubus. If he wanted gratification better than his girlfriend or wife could ever give him, she was not the person for the job. He'd have to take his hard-ons somewhere else. The young man looked to be around the same age she had been reincarnated at, somewhere in his early twenties. Stupendously, the big bastard looked to be close to six and a half whole feet tall, maybe even more, dwarfing the incubus by a wide margin.

He was dressed rather casually, wearing a navy blue turtleneck sweater with black slacks and matching black leather hiking boots. He carried nothing with him...Not even supplies for his apparent wildlife excursion, Erika couldn't help but notice. Her cave hideaway was easily over six miles into the wilderness from the next nearest town. Had he hiked this whole way with nothing to drink, at least? Idiotic, to say the least. Moron or not, however, he was a surprisingly good-looking guy, all things considered. His hair was short and dirty blonde, swept back. Even in the dark, even at a distance, she could make out the startlingly intense cyan of his clear, resolute eyes. He had a strong jaw, sleek from his fresh shave, and a rounded chin, just below...Strangely alluring lips...Ruined, of course, by the smirk they were slanted into. Erika wasn't impressed.

Without warning, the man put his hands to his hips and called out "Finally, I've found you. I've been looking for you, all night. I imagine you're free, now. You and I need to have a talk. Since you're all done preying for the night, this can be our first chance to talk." Erika's brow furrowed. Here we go again. Normally, they didn't say a word. Normally, they just drew steel, and yet, this man didn't have a weapon on him, didn't even have armour. This was a first. To ensure she was on the right track, she nonchalantly called back "You a paladin, then?" His mouth hung open, for a moment, as he slowly meandered a few steps towards her. "...I am," he slowly replied, as he came to a stop.

Erika's jaw briefly tightened. No big surprise, there. Seen one, seen 'em all. They always have that air to them, that sort of smug superiority that they know what's what better than anyone, that they have all the answers. He seemed to sense the resistance already bubbling in her gut. "Please, I just want to talk," he added. Her posture barely stiffened. Hearing "please" caught Erika off-guard, but not well enough to make her cooperative. "Well then," she called out. "Let's cut right to the chase. You aren't the first paladin to come after me, and you won't be the last, either. I don't want or need your help. I don't need "saving." This is your first and last chance - back off, or you'll wish you had never started this hunt." He raised his eyebrows, his face a bit blank as he raised his chin.

Again, his mouth hung open for just a moment before he answered, as if he needed a second to find the words. "I don't plan on trying to hurt you," he offered. "I suppose you must know enough about paladins to know I've begun a hunt. Yes, I am honour-bound to stop you, even if it costs me my mortal life. I am duty-bound to eliminate the threat you pose, and to save people from your malicious influence. If I can help it, however, I don't want it to come to violence." Erika's eyes went half-closed. She barely shook her head. Great. Just great. He was one of those do-gooder, "pure" paladins. They were always the most annoying...Yet, also the most deliciously exciting to corrupt. Normally, the ones who came after her were grizzled and jaded. Sometimes, they were sadistic crusaders. But, this guy?

He was clearly one of those by-the-good book, baby-faced kids, probably fresh out of the church and filled with idealistic notions about saving souls and "all evil still contains goodness," and some such nonsense. How tedious. She just wanted to do what she needed to do to get by. Couldn't all these holy warriors and bible-thumpers just stop riding her ass like a bad wedgie, already? He proved her unvoiced point by raising his eyebrows, taking another couple steps forwards, and offering "There is a better way." She sighed, raised her hand, and gestured for him to stop with a big, flat palm. She closed her eyes in exasperation, then remarked "Stop right there. My lord. My brain cells are already shutting off, one by one. Spare me."

When she opened her eyes again, he didn't look offended or insulted. He simply watched her, patiently, slipping his hands into his pockets. Her hand shifted until she was momentarily jabbing a finger at him. Giving him a weary look, she stated "Free will. We all do what we want. I'm telling you that I don't want "help," and you're free to ignore me. By all means, hunt me like every other paladin has. You won't do a better job than any of the rest. This would be a lot simpler if you just turned around and..." Erika's eyes widened and began to glow. Compulsion filled her voice in an unnatural echo as she finished her thought, declaring "...Forgot you ever saw me." He blinked and raised his chin. Erika smirked, turned to the side, and took a step towards her cave. She ground to a screeching halt when he suddenly called out "...I'm afraid I can't do that, Erika."

She twisted her head around to face him so quickly, her fiery red hair swung about. What had he just said? He was simply watching her without a sound, no real expression on his face, those cute lips of his settled in a flat line. She ignored the bewildering fact that he had somehow resisted her compulsion. That was not necessarily unheard of, although it certainly was bizarre to see that sort of mental acuity in such a young paladin. More importantly than that was how he knew her name. Narrowing her eyes, she suspiciously snapped "What did you just call me?" He raised his eyebrows, gave an innocent shrug, and offered "Would you prefer I call you Eric?"

She barely shook her head, brow furrowing just a touch. "That's not my name anymore," she breathed out, just loudly enough for him to hear. He slipped his hands out of his pockets, taking yet a few more steps towards her. Now, they were within a couple yards. If she wanted to, she could've lunged out and glided with her wings. The blindingly fast surprise attack would assuredly catch him completely off-guard, and with no armour, no weapon...She could be rid of this man in a flash. Instead, she simply listened with morbid fascination as he said "No, I suppose it isn't. That hasn't been your name for nearly one hundred years. You chose "Erika" after you were reincarnated in your new form."

Erika subtly swallowed some excess saliva. How in the flying fuck did someone know that, about her? Most demons wouldn't know these kinds of personal details. She turned her head to the side, a little. Narrowing an eye, she suspiciously muttered "...You're no paladin. Are you?" He raised his eyebrows and nodded, quite earnestly. "I am," he insisted. "I know what I do because I needed to have something if I was going to help you. Knowing where you're coming from helps." She slowly shook her head. Almost under her breath, she muttered "...You don't know me." He dropped his chin, looking upwards at her. "I already know more than you figured I ever would or could," he calmly pointed out.

A gentle breeze began to play through the clearing, bending the branches of the trees, rustling their leaves like the sound of rainfall. Her jaw tightened up as they stared each other down. For several long, tense seconds, neither of them said anything. Erika considered eviscerating him, right then and there - he certainly seemed to think she wouldn't or couldn't, considering his lack of armour. In fact, his lack of arms and armour was almost like a taunt, wasn't it? Like, he was so cocksure of himself that he was convinced he didn't need the armour, that he could get inside her head and talk her out of doing the obvious to be rid of him. After a few moments, he finally explained everything he knew, seemingly for nothing other than transparency's sake.

"You were born Eric Namith Stryker, in the small rural village of Canders. You died young of sickness, and for reasons I honestly don't know, your soul was sentenced to punishment in Hell. You embraced it rather than repented, and were reborn as a succubus. You came back to the world of the living, and have been wandering for nearly one hundred years, preying upon young women ever since." She scowled, then smirked. Trying to hide the mockery in her tone, she snapped "How cute. So, you've heard a couple village legends around the well. Big deal. By the by, I'm not a succubus. You said so, yourself: I feed on women, not men." He raised his eyebrows. For the faintest second, those cyan eyes of his dropped to her healthy bust. "You sure look like one to me," he calmly retorted.

She gave him a scornful smile, reached down, grabbed her miniskirt, and hiked it up. His eyes dropped lower. He barely shrugged, looked back up to her eyes, and remarked "That doesn't really make any difference, to me. You're still a succubus, in my book. I've been sworn to deal with succubi." For a moment, her eyes widened, her lips curving into a little frown. Then, she just began to look perplexed. Was he just being a contrarian asshole, or was he being serious? She pulled her skirt back down, and when he tried taking yet another step towards her, she finally started backing up. Her stomach twisted into an uncomfortable knot as she muttered "Listen, weirdo. I'm not sure how you found out that stuff, but it doesn't make any difference. Leave me alone. If you don't want to listen, I'll have to get nasty."

He shook his head, a little. Confidently, yet not at all arrogantly, he resolutely stated "I don't believe that. I believe you want someone to understand. I don't believe you're happy about how things turned out. What happened to you was unfair. Nobody's tried talking to you about it, before. Everyone else has simply drawn steel to exorcise the demon, and if you weren't determined to live, you wouldn't have been here for close to a hundred years. If you wanted me dead, you would've already killed me." Erika's mouth briefly opened as she looked off to the side and gave some decidedly condescending nods. As she looked back over at him, she could barely keep from curling her lip up as she hurriedly said "Yes, yes, yes. You want to redeem me, you think you can save me, yadda yadda yadda."

Giving him a withering glare, she muttered, with a warning finality to her tone, "If I were you, I'd be much more concerned about saving my own soul than worrying about someone else's. Listen to me, and listen good: I don't want your help. Full stop. Period. Discussion over. I'm fine. Stay. Away. I won't tell you again. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'd like to go get some sleep, and I'm sure you can already figure out what'll happen if you follow a demon into it's lair." The unnamed paladin barely raised an eyebrow, briefly pouting those lips of his, drawing in Erika's eyes. He stuck his hands back into his pockets and passively remarked "...It's hardly your "lair," you've been using it for all of six weeks." She did a double-take. Brow furrowing, she blurted out "How in the hell...No, fuck it, it doesn't matter."

Her jaw tightened as she turned back away from her cave almost as quickly as she had turned to leave, her lips curling up into a cruel smile. "Alright, fine," she snapped. "You're looking to play, little boy? I'll...I'll make you a deal, how's that? You're not too good to make a deal with a demon, are you?" He raised an eyebrow. Still, those lips didn't move, and those deep, cyan eyes remained patient...Too patient. His whole demeanor was starting to stink of someone with a cold, calculating plan, and the thought of turning his whole little scheme around on it's head had her panties feeling tighter by the second. Rat bastard, do-gooder, bible-thumping, eunuch paladins deserved no better, not as far as she was concerned. They thought they were so much better, so much more superior, that it was their job to "save" her. Sickening. Quietly, he answered "Well...I don't know. What would a deal with a demon entail?"

Erika raised her eyebrows and grinned, her eyes going half-closed. She crossed her arms beneath her tremendous bust, pushing her globes together, not-so-subtly amplifying the appearance of their size. She carefully sashayed towards him, delicately placing each foot down in front of the other, swaying her hips as she approached. She fearlessly strode up until she was within arm's reach of him, looking up into his eyes as she laid it all out on the line. Still grinning wide enough to show off her teeth, she momentarily gave a light shake with her head, gazing into his cyan eyes as she said "It's a magically binding agreement. We make terms, we shake on them. Whoever loses, or wins, is compelled to fulfill their end of the bargain...No matter what it is, no matter how much they dislike it. I'd bet you could imagine a whole lot of naughty stuff you could do with that sort of deal, huh?...Why don't you tell me what you want, if you win?"

Her eyes subtly widened, and the golden irises of her slitted eyes began to glow phantasmally, emitting their own luminescence like hot coals. His brow faintly furrowed, and her mind never shot high to the stars, rushing on the wild rush of his libido. The phenomena simply never occurred. Instead, those cyan eyes of his only seemed to become deeper, bluer, more...Limpid...She blinked a couple times, confusion crossing her eyes. She uncrossed one arm, brazenly raised it, and nearly went up on her tippy-toes just to tap her thumb against his forehead. He barely shook his head, his severe stare continuing. "That's not going to work," he muttered, quickly adding "And, I don't appreciate you trying."

She was beyond feeling stunned, at that point. Her jaw simply locked up as she gave him a glare, her eyes losing their glow. She gave a hard sigh through her nose so thorough, she deflated. She muttered under her breath and glanced to the side in exasperation as she re-crossed her arm. When she looked back, she was grinning. Quite bluntly, she said "Deal is, we compare cock sizes. Winner has the bigger dick. We both get thirty seconds to warm up and get hard, then whip 'em out at the same time and compare sizes. Or...Are you too scared to compare schlong sizes with a "succubus," hm?" When he raised his eyebrows, seemingly in surprise, she thought she had him beat, right then and there. It was all she could do to avoid biting her lip. If this played out, and she got to corrupt him...

He raised an eyebrow, crossed his arms, and tentatively asked "...And, supposing I won this contest, what, exactly, would I get in return?" She shrugged, threw her arms out by her sides, and grinned, flatly remarking "Anything you want. I know what I want." Oh, boy, did she. She was getting tired of thinking about those sensual lips of his - she'd put them to good use, before the night was through. Not that she wanted to, mind you. No, of course not. She was an incubus, after all - she did not prey upon men or feed upon their life force. However, if some humiliation taught this uppity paladin a lesson - and Lord knew humiliation in the bedroom was the keenest sort - then she could make an exception, in his case. Anything to get him off her back. Violence was a last resort, or was used only if he struck first. If she corrupted him instead, turned him into a sex slave...Well...

When all he did was give another carefree shrug, gave her a legitimately big, honest smile, and simply stated "Well, all I wanted to do was talk to you, for a bit. All I wanted to do was share with you the Good Word, and how you're not irredeemable," she almost couldn't believe it. Erika's shoulders slumped, a big, weary grimace crossing her face as she blurted out "Oh, for fuck's...!" She trailed off, sighed, and added "Fine, good God, you're really stuck on this crap, aren't you? I'm a sex demon, for crying out loud, you could've gotten anything you wanted! Fine, if you win, I agree to..." She condescendingly looked around with exaggerated boredom, dramatically sighing as her tail snapped about through the air, behind her. "...I agree to one evening with you, where we talk. That's it. No more, no less." She widened her eyes and barely shook her head in open mockery, slowly adding "Is an entire evening of my time good enough for you, oh reverent paladin, purifier of demons, saviour of souls?"

He grinned and, to her great surprise, just said "I like your sense of humour." Her shoulders slumped as she stared at him, still a little wide-eyed. After a second, she just narrowed her eyes. He was mocking her, wasn't he? Yeah, well. There'd be plenty of time for her to mock him back when he has a quart of demon cum gurgling in his belly, tainting him from the inside-out. Nearly under her breath, she muttered "...If I win, you drop to your knees and suck my dick. Right here, right now. And swallow. And believe me, when I unload, I make a fucking mess. My balls aren't just big - they're hyperactive. You're gonna be wishing I had just dumped it on your face, instead. Don't paladins take vows to avoid sexual conduct at all costs?" His reaction was not what she had expected. She had expected a grimace, or some pallor, or even some fury.

Instead...He just smiled.

Trying not to chuckle, he simply said "That doesn't sound like a very fair trade. If I win, we talk, but if you win, I do you a sexual favour? That doesn't seem particularly equitable." Her tail snapped to the side in annoyance. She uncrossed her arms and put her fists to his hips, smiling nastily. Was he challenging her, now? Doubling down, raising the stakes? She asked as much, grinning, purring out "Does that mean you agree? It doesn't bother you, the idea of sucking me off?..." He shrugged. "Well," he remarked, "I haven't lost, yet. It doesn't bother you?" She shook her head, quietly remarking "If it gets you off my back, well...I'd rather gag you than gag at your sermons."

He slowly looked upwards, as if he were resisting the urge to roll his eyes. When he looked back down, he said "Well, let's keep it fair, then. If I win, in addition to us having a chat, you also go down on me. Sound fair?" "Hey now," she immediately protested. "Now you're getting two things if you win. That means I should get two blowjobs if I win," Erika insisted, grinning. Her enthusiasm for this never seemed to give him reason to falter. Even she, herself, was starting to get confused. Was this still just an act, anymore? Some of the things she was saying were coming kind of quick to the tongue. Of course, she didn't actually want to suck him off - no thank you, what would the other demons say? - but she wasn't going to lose. She couldn't. And, she wouldn't mind some head with those nice lips of his, before bedtime...

Even if he were a man, and not one of her victims, those lips were too sexy to ignore. There was just something about him that had gotten her feeling more playful than hostile about this whole thing, even with blowjobs on the line. She held out her hand, still grinning as she cooed "So, are we in agreement, mister paladin? Remember, thirty seconds to get hard, so I hope you can beat your meat fast. I'll count, out loud. After thirty seconds, we turn around and stick them out. No stalling. Bigger prick is the winner, and the winner gets some head while the loser swallows every drop...And, if you lose, you leave me alone, forever. Are we all clear?" She narrowed her eyes, smiling nastily from ear to ear. Almost under her breath, she challenged "You sure you don't want to back out? Now's your chance. You can just turn around and walk away, you know."

He raised his hand. She kept going with her warning, raising her eyebrows. "If you just leave me alone, you won't have to suck my cock. Trust me when I say, blowing me will not be easy. Are you sure you want this?" He raised his eyebrows, lightly tilted his head to the side, and calmly said "I'm not backing down, Erika. Showing you that there's more to life than sex is too important, to me. Showing you that you can be saved, that you do deserve it, is more important than anything that might happen to me. I-" She narrowed her eyes and cut him off, bluntly muttering "I hate you, already. Do you even have an off switch? Give it a rest, guy. You're a fucking broken record." He grinned and chuckled at that, to her confusion. He grabbed her hand, gave a pump, and said "I agree."

A blast of red light abruptly erupted from between their clasped fingers, wreathing around their joined arms in fiery, ribbon-like tendrils of light. In but a moment, the lightshow faded, and the magic had taken effect inside them both. Like it or not, the deal had been sealed...For both parties. As soon as they had let go of each other's hand, they were turning around on their heels, putting their backs to each other like duellists about to take paces. Erika's puffy lips curved, then curled, from a cocky smirk to a mean-spirited grin. She reached down and promptly yanked her panties down under her balls, letting her half-hard length swing out. Rather noisily, she spat into the palm of her hand, then got right down to work.

She gave a big, grinning smirk as she stared off into the distance, listening to the wet sounds of her own efforts. Somewhere in the background, the quiet flesh-on-flesh sounds of his own efforts could be heard. Erika began counting aloud, but couldn't resist toying with him before even ten seconds had passed. She stuck her tail out further and further behind herself until the spaded tip touched his leg, then began smoothing up across his pant leg. She winced when a hand suddenly slapped her red tail away, and the paladin quickly remarked "No cheating." "Wouldn't dream of it," Erika teased, holding back a chuckle. It was only cheating if he didn't like it, after all. If he did, well, she was just giving him an encouraging nudge...

If he liked it, he shouldn't have any problem with their deal when he loses, correct? He'd be doing something a hell of a lot more personal than touching her tail, and the best part was, once that first injection had taken place, why, he'd want more. More and more until he was just as "damned" as she was. The sadistic thought had her eyes going heavy-lidded as she jerked harder, momentarily pausing her counting as she basked in the sensation. Thoughts of corrupting him were rewarded with a tenseness in her loins, need bubbling in her crotch like a boiling cauldron. He prodded her to continue counting, and finally, Erika cooed "Twenty-eight...Twenty-nine...Thirty. Time's up. Whip it out, soldier boy. Let me see it, gimme the best you've got. No stalling!"

Erika spun around on a bone heel, grinning to herself, smug with certain victory. The young, unnamed paladin slowly turned back around, holding together the front of his unbuckled, unzipped pants. Erika made a show of giving a stretch, yawning, and sticking her arms out by her sides. Smacking her lips, she brought a hand up and shook her fingers through her hair, raking them across the back of her own head. She held the other hand down by her crotch, pointing a dainty finger at herself, her painted black fingernail like the dot to a well-deserved exclamation point. Erika's thick, meaty prick, riddled with visibly bulging veins, was a fat ten inches, standing tall like a twitching horn as it jutted from her lap. The skin over the further half of her prick was a bit shiny with her drying saliva, particularly the unshielded, circumcised tip.

Dangling heavily just below, resting over the front of her cotton panties, the incubus' packed undercarriage sat, almost as if they were overtop a white altar. Each inhuman testicle was almost the size of an apple as they stretched tight the smooth, hairless skin of her full beanbag, promising a level of productivity that no mere human could ever hope to match. She was an incubus - fucking was her very nature. When the paladin raised an eyebrow and pouted out his lower lip, Erika almost started giggling at him. She wanted to taunt him, to dare him to just admit defeat and drop his pants, to show her what little dagger he had to battle her claymore with. If he conceded, maybe she'd go easy on him...Maybe the first load would go on his face, instead of straight down his gullet.

Instead of rubbing his nose in it, however, she simply grinned and showed off her fangs. She reached down and delicately raked her fingers through her own thick, bloody crimson pubic hair, carefully groomed into a big triangle over her mons. With a tiny giggle, she pressed a finger down against her own cock, pointing it as far down towards the ground as she could get it, then slipped her finger off, making a show out of how her cock sprang back up and bounced around. She was hard as a rock, and it was painfully clear to see. What chance did he have? He raised his eyebrows, a little, as he watched her cock bounce. Somewhat ruefully, he said "Well..."

Erika shrugged with her eyebrows, remarking "Yeah, I know, right? You should've known better than to make a deal with a sex demon, idiot. Too bad the agreement is magically binding, eh? You won't be able to renege, even if you wanted to." She barely turned her head to the side, her voice dropping to a coy coo as she murmured "...It's okay to be star-struck, I know it's impressive. Ninety percent of most guys can't even compare. Don't feel so bad - you just don't measure up. It's alright, really. As long as you can open your jaw wide enough, this won't be so tough. I'll go easy on you. Promise." He raised his eyebrows. When he started to get another one of those big, bright, almost friendly smiles, her eyes subtly narrowed. Putting it rather simply, he commented "I think you've lost this bet, Erika."

He opened his pants, and the thing that came tumbling out had her eyes bugging out as she looked down. Immediately, she snapped "What the fuck?" Her arm dropped to her side so hard, so fast, her hand limply slapped her juicy thigh. Her jaw dropped as she stared. Numerous seconds passed by in silence as her eyes drank in every detail. He was...The same size as her? No. He was, right? He wasn't bigger, was he? No, screw that. Couldn't be. No, he looked to be about the same size. He was definitely girthier than she was, at least. His two reactors weren't as fat or heavy with unnatural sperm production, but they weren't marbles, either. Fuck, he could've used that cock like a blackjack!

Her eyes shifted up to his. He was still smiling as he gave an innocent shrug. She looked back down. Her pink, puffy lips barely shifting, she mumbled "...Fuck outta here. Is this some kind of trick?..." "No trick," he placidly offered. Her eyes finally relaxed back to their usual half-closed shape as she quickly stepped closer to him, big, stiff prick bobbing around with every step as her thighs shifted her balls. With him still holding his open pants by the undone belt, she reached right out and brazenly began groping his cock with one hand, fondling his shaft and tip as she searched for whatever hidden means had given him such an inhuman prick. The thing was softer than she had expected, but the rest was the usual fare: warm, pulsing, twitching, a little veiny, every inch rejoicing under her soft skin, even if she weren't giving him the gentle touch of a lover.

There was no seam, so he wasn't wearing a fake piece to cap his real cock. With a determined scowl, she brought her second hand underneath his shaft and waved him up and down, slapping the end of his cock down against her palm. She barely heard him give a sigh of satisfaction at her roughhousing of his manhood, but still, the noise had her cheeks feeling warm. Bastard wasn't supposed to get off on this. She glanced up. He was still smiling. She narrowed her eyes even further. Did he really like this, then? Having some petite "succubus" manhandling his junk? Her brow furrowed deep. If only she could get inside his mind and see what nasty little secrets he had locked away...But, that could come later, once she had begun tainting him. Until then, well...He certainly felt real, but that didn't mean he was.

She stuck her hand further down and groped at his balls, trying to stick her fingers behind them, hoping beyond hope she found some kind of clit-dick hidden underneath an enormous strap-on. No such luck. All she found was more skin. She sighed in defeat. No ifs, ands, or buts about it, this monster was real. He was fucking big, just like her. When his arm shifted, she barely paid attention to it, but when two fingers lightly came down and delicately pressed her pierced nipple in a delicate pinch, she gave a start, whipping a hand up to slap his own wandering one away from her sizeable breast.

Glaring up into the tall paladin's eyes, the diminutive incubus barked "Hey! No touching! That wasn't part of the deal!" The unnamed paladin gave an innocent shrug, that damned smile of his persisting as he gently pointed out "Sorry. You're right. It's just, they're poking through your fishnets like cherries...And, you're touching me a heck of a lot." Erika looked down at her own chest in surprise, then glared back up at him, unhanded his cock, and defended herself in a loud, flustered voice. "I-I'm just making sure this thing is real! We made a deal with something pretty good on the line, I'm allowed to make sure that I'm not being cheated! If you aren't, then you have nothing to worry about!" He gave another innocent shrug. "I'm not worried," he passively protested.

She narrowed her eyes with suspicion. Her lips puckered off to the side in open distrust before she muttered "...Yeah, well, just stay still, then. Let's see whose is bigger." She looked down and stepped even closer to him, but quickly stopped herself with a great big frown. She had intended to hold their cocks together and compare sizes that way, but with the size difference between them, there was practically a foot of space separating their crotches. With a reluctant sigh, she looked back up to his eyes, muttering "...Alright, big guy, you're gonna have to pick me up. Do it gently, or else I'll...Do something." He raised an eyebrow, but readily reached his arms out. Brow a little furrowed, she reached up and took him by the wrists, gently guiding his hands. A little quietly, she instructed "Take my hips...Just, lift me up so we can go cock-to-cock."

They both pretended not to notice the way her cock gave a twitch as he started holding her shapely hips - nothing more than coincidence. She was as hard as a rock, after all. Twitches and flexes should've been expected. Raising an eyebrow, he offered "You sure you don't want me to just take you under your arms?" She gave a couple restrained shakes with her head. "I need to be able to use my arms," she pointed out, trying not to inflect condescension at his, in her mind, insipid suggestion. He barely shrugged at her stubbornness. With a quick, faint exhale of exertion, he lifted her up right off of her feet, his hands pressing hard into her thighs. Erika felt the spikes of her unholy high heels leave the grass, and the paladin, seemingly with little real effort, raised her body up until her cock slapped into the underside of his own.

They both gave a grunt of discomfort, at that. She quietly gave him a scowl, but then she was looking down between his arms. Bringing her arms down between his unintentionally brought them close enough to press her breasts together between her arms, but again, both of them pretended not to notice. Erika took each of their meaty cocks in one hand and, at first, she tried to get a literal side-by-side comparison. Within seconds, she was groaning in frustration. No, it wouldn't work. It tilted them both towards the sides too much for an accurate test of length. Instead, she brought her cock down over his, laying her meat overtop his own, thicker slab. Her massive bust subtly began to rise and fall faster as her breaths deepened.

The sight was surreal. Her, rubbing cocks with someone - and not just anyone, but a blessed paladin. They should've been trying to kill each other. Instead, they were busy frotting dicks to try and find out who'd have to suck off whom. His hot, soft skin, rubbing against her own...She could feel the thrumming of his heart through him, pulsing in tandem with her own. Her tail hung low, close to the back of her dangling legs, as she pressed the underside of her cock to his upperside, trying not to notice the comfortable sensation of her urethra being compressed against his meat. She glanced up to his eyes and gave him a little nod without a word. He understood the signal and eased her hips closer, bringing her body towards his until their shafts were running across each other.

Erika's eyelids flickered as her knees turned inwards. His hot tip, so engorged it was a vague purple, came pushing against her balls. She looked up to his eyes, gauging his reaction to what they were doing. He was back to the same sort of stoic look he had had when they had first laid eyes on each other, no real discernable emotion on his face besides the deep stare he was giving. She swiftly ended up looking away from his blue eyes. She didn't really need to look downwards, but she wanted to, all the same. When she did, her lips just twisted into a dramatic frown. His tip touched her balls...While her's did not touch his mons. It was pretty obvious who was the bigger one, here. It may have been a slim size gap, but it was a gap, all the same. There was about one full inch of difference between them, making him an absurd eleven inches of thick, hot, pulsating man-meat. Son of a bitch.

She gave a great gust of a sigh. She had lost. She waited for him to snicker, to make some remark. He never did, to her confusion...Either he was trying to be merciful, or he was a better man than she. Her jaw tightened as she felt the compulsion begin to spread throughout her body, seeping through her muscles like a warm, numb fog. A deal had been struck, a bargain made, and she was obligated to uphold her end. Already, her body was trying to move into the appropriate position. She closed her eyes, her lips settling into a firm line. She let go of their cocks, making them bounce apart. She threw her hands up to shoulder height, wearily blurting out "Alright, fuck. A deal's a deal. You're bigger than me, barely. You won, mister paladin. Put me down, and I'll...Go down, I guess."

He didn't say anything as he set her back down on her high heels, but once he had, he stood up straight and seemed to go a little rigid. No doubt the magic of their agreement was keeping him in place, preventing him from disrupting her efforts. She knew better than to fight it, but still, she tried to resist as her body moved, all on it's own. Nothing came of her efforts. She began to ease down into a squat, splaying her thighs as wide apart as they could get as she squatted just far enough to bring her face level with his improbably large cock. With her knees spread so far apart, her hard-on helplessly jutted out between them, exceedingly exposed for the paladin to see. Not for the first time, Erika was glad her den was so far away from civilization.

If anyone stumbled across the two, they'd easily be given the idea that she was happily showing off her prick to him like some slutty boy-toy. Nothing could be further from the truth - this was not her decision, after all. She hadn't planned on blowing a paladin that night, and she'd fight anyone who said otherwise until she was blue in the face. She had played a gambit, and it had backfired. Nothing more. Muttering under her breath as she fought the movements in her arms and head, Erika bitterly remarked "Fuckin'...Puss-ass...Eleven inches...Fuck this shit...Better not've been any divine intervention for your holy ass...Just my luck...Do I look like a cock-smoker, to you?...Don't answer that."

When he spoke, his words quickly had her feeling a little surprised. His jaw was just as tight as her's. He seemed to have legitimate difficulty speaking, as if he had to force the words out against the compulsion to keep completely still for her. Still, he managed to speak in a low voice, muttering "...If I could go easy on you...I would...But, we made a deal...I can't...Stop you...Even if I wanted to..." Erika's brow furrowed. Her arms quaked as she fought them with all her might, but still, they rose to his hips, holding gently. Her mouth began to open wide, all of it's own accord, as she muttered "So, you do want this, then." He tried to look down as best he could, but the magic of their agreement prevented his head from tilting. Not until she had started would he be allowed such a small pittance of freedom. "Well," he quietly commented, "you are beautiful."

Her face started to go flush. She didn't say anything in response. She couldn't, not by that point. By that point, her mouth had been pried open into a nice, narrow "0," her puffy, lipstick-covered lips inching closer to his swollen knob. Her eyes crossed as she stared down at his cock, steadily coming closer and closer towards her face. Her nostrils flared as she picked up his musk, steadily breathing in more of his manly scent. Her tongue slid out between her lips. The tip touched her upper lip, then slowly, carefully, circled the ring of her lips, getting them just a bit damp with her saliva. Then, her tongue was reaching out towards him. Her eyelids flickered down until her eyes were half-shut. A tiny teardrop rolled from the outer corner of her right eye. So close, now...So close...Her cock thrummed expectantly, giving a couple bobs in the air.

She could almost hear the whisper of the compulsion, at the back of her mind. The more she fought it, the more intense it became, rising up in a trembling crescendo. "You made a deal. Indulge in his cock, love it, feel it. You made a deal. Be loved by it, smell it, drown in it. You made a deal. Taste it, lick it, kiss it. Feel his balls touch your spit-slick chin. You made a deal, and deals cannot be broken. Don't resist." The paladin's next statement, although well-meaning, broke apart her resistance into a million little pieces with just three unexpected words: "...My...Name's Luke..." Erika's wildly disoriented eyes simply fell shut. Luke. A sorrowful squeak drifted out of her open mouth right before her pink, pouty lips came down against the crown of his cock, sealing in a supple ring around the end of his manhood.

The instant they made contact, the battle was over for them both. Ecstasy erupted inside both their minds as the agreed upon price came underway. Erika's nostrils flared a couple times before she breathed out a long, husky sigh. Luke, too, visibly relaxed, sighing as his posture became less stiff, less forced. With Erika's resistance crumpled, there was simply no building it back up, and the compulsion took full effect. She dropped her hands from Luke's sides and hiked up her miniskirt a little more, keeping it from feeling so tight across her cushiony ass in her squat. Then, she reached back up, delicately smoothing one of her hands around his leg, holding him behind his thigh. The other trailed up his pants until she got to his slack belt. A moment later, she tugged, pulling his pants away from his hands, making them drop around his ankles. There was no point holding them up. He wouldn't need them, for a while.

He didn't seem to know where to put his hands, and simply let them hang at his sides. Erika gave a low, guttural moan, sliding her petite hand over until she could gently wrap it around the base of his cock. She could barely wrap her digits around him, and if not for her long fingernails, she wouldn't be able to feel the ends of her fingers touch her thumb, at all. Whatever anxiety or discomfort she felt about what she was doing never outwardly showed, not with the compulsion of their deal in full effect. Any little protests she internally voiced were tucked away at the back of her mind, harmless to her ego, if only for the time being. All the while, her lips had never left his tip. A hot gust of air drifted from her nose as she slowly circled the tip of her tongue against the end of his manhood, teasing the slit and underside, tasting his forbidden skin.

Forbidden not simply because he was a paladin, but because of what she was, as well. This never should've happened. She hadn't thought it would. She never should've offered a deal, and he never should've accepted. This all would've been a hell of a lot more acceptable if she were the one standing and he were the one kneeling. What would the other demons say if they saw her, there? "Get your eyes checked, that's not a girl," or maybe "Why are you still rock-hard with a cock stretching your lips?" They didn't know the truth. They couldn't. When Erika gently pulled up along his prick and milked him against her own mouth, dragging his skin into her lips, her eyelids flickered. A transparent globule of sappy fluid slowly beaded over the tip of her spearing cock, collecting in just a single droplet before it began running, trailing down the underside of her shaft. Luke.

Erika may not have wanted to do this now, with him...But, that did not necessarily mean she never had, at all.

She slowly bobbed her head forwards, letting her lips pass to the ridge of his tip, boiling under her magic-infused lipstick. Then, she was easing back, letting her lips run so far back on his tip that she were kissing him. She lightly shook her head, rubbing her puckered lips against him, then eased back in, spreading her saliva further along him. Her lipstick had been made to further stimulate girls, inside and out. When she kissed those girls and dosed them with her lipstick, they started flowing cream like a jug, and they damn well stayed that way until the dawn's light. Whatever Luke felt, it quickened his breath under her ministrations. The feisty incubus, subdued by her own ploy, could only sigh as she sank her head deeper.

Her wings relaxed, closing, folding as best they could behind her arms. Her tail hung low, gently twitching to and fro before finally pulling inwards, delicately coiling itself around her left thigh. To her mild surprise, Luke never said anything, not even when she slowly bobbed her head in deep enough to get his tip near the back of her mouth. She had expected an arrogant sense of triumph. Instead, the only sound he made was his own breathing, acting as the background noise to her sighs and suckling lips. Look at them. A paladin and a demon. She didn't know which of them should've been more mortified. They had both agreed to this deal, knowing full well the possible consequences. Nobody was around...They were alone. Nobody would know. The thought made Erika's throat hum with a reluctant moan. Nobody would know...

She went in as deep as she possibly could without gagging herself, getting around a third of him inside her mouth before she had to stop. She kept slowly milking the rest of his length, feeling the way he pulsed under her soft fingers, squeezing just tightly enough to feel his heart through his veins. Her lips stretched taut around his meat, she began picking up her pace once he had become slippery enough with her saliva. Her bangs gently bobbed back and forth on either side of her face as she suckled at him, her cheeks dutifully hollowing every time she eased her head back.

She brought her head deep, quiet wet sounds coming in muffled tickles from the inside of her mouth as she lightly shook her head, delicately rubbing his crown against the back of her mouth. She quickly gagged, but after a brief scrunching crossed her face, she relaxed and gave a little sigh through her nose. He tasted so good, smelled so good, was so hot under her lips, twitched oh so gently against the texture of her tongue...She couldn't even hear the voice of the compulsion, anymore. She slowly shifted her free hand from the back of his thigh to between them, raising it up until she could cup his undercarriage. He didn't react with any noise, but she wouldn't be discouraged. She gently squeezed, rolled, and pulled, loosening up his smooth skin until his reactors were free to dangle, just like her's.

When she gently cinched her hand around his orbs, keeping them pulled out from his body, he finally gave a little sigh. The sound made Erika's eyelids flicker, her thick eyelashes twitching like butterfly wings. When she swirled her tongue around his tip a couple times, she was rewarded by a sudden splattering inside her mouth. Her eyelids finally rose. She looked up at him, her slitted pupils dilated to ovals. He was looking down at her, watching her. Her mouth and throat tensed as she swallowed, getting down the excited contribution he had given her. She watched his eyes close, at that. Erika slowly blinked, a couple times. Look at him, up there. He was really getting off on this, wasn't he?...Even though she wasn't one of his succubi?

Well, she thought, getting your dick sucked is still getting your dick sucked, no matter who's doing it. Still, better he enjoy it than not. Would've been a waste of time, if he didn't. He opened his eyes, again, as she began bobbing her head, once more. They made eye contact as he silently brought one of his hands over, gently touching the top of her head. She blinked her glassy eyes, fluttering her eyelashes at him. His mouth hung open a crack as he slowly petted across her soft, thick hair until his fingertips began to trail across her right horn. She closed her eyes, gently tilting her head into his hand, encouraging him to explore her. Yes, you can touch the incubus, it's alright. She won't hurt you, if you play nice. She's nothing to be afraid of, little paladin...

He gently wrapped his fingers around the one horn, squeezing, feeling how firm the bone-like material was. Her face began to feel warm as he slipped his hand away from her horn, delicately brushing the backs of his fingers down across some of the bangs framing her face. She gave a little coo against his meat. All the excess saliva building up inside her mouth ultimately began to drool past her lower lip, trickling straight down the center of her chin in a thin, shimmering line. A ring of pink, a smudged circle of her lipstick, marked the deepest spot she could reach on his manhood, an undeniable sign of her lust for him. When she started bobbing her head faster, he finally broke down and gave a moan. The corners of her lips barely shifted upwards. Yes...They always gave in. Sex was her business, after all...Just, not sex with men. A first for everything.

When he trickled more pre-cum against the back of her tongue, she swallowed, again. Ohh...The more she tasted, the more her head swam. As it was, she had begun to feel...Unusually heavy, down there. It had started off slow, at first. The sensation had rapidly picked up pace, once it had begun. The space between her balls and backdoor felt full, heavy, tense. Rhythmic clenches in her backdoor, happening solely by instinct and nothing more, nonetheless always felt...Tingly. She knew this sensation all too well, but not quite to this intensity. Her prostate was kicking into overdrive, filling with semen, ready to flood a womb. Normally, this only happened after a good hour straight of knocking on some naughty girl's cervix, but there it was, all the same. The droplets steadily falling from her tip attested the fact that her cup was running over. She...Wanted to cum, and all she was doing was...

Maybe Luke was onto something: she was sure leaking like a succubus. Her neglected cock pulsed and throbbed, numbly stabbing up into the air between her open thighs. The eye of her member had barely dilated with need, open just a couple small millimeters to accommodate her steady flow of sappy pre-cum. The hotter he became inside her mouth, the more she dribbled. The huskier his breathing became, the faster her backdoor clenched. When he put his hand over her head again, she stopped stroking his cock. Instead, she pulled his skin down to the base, tightening his skin as much as possible as she slurped across the third or so she could manage, teasing his tip with her lips on every draw backwards. He was getting close, now...

She could sense it, like some sympathetic tingle in her overactive balls, that he'd be pouring forth his sanctified seed, any minute now...Straight into her unholy mouth. The thought sent a shiver trailing down her spine, compulsion or no. She slowly let go of his balls, immediately feeling them draw up in preparation. She idly reached behind herself, placing her hand over her tush, delicately squeezing one of her own cheeks. She gently pulled herself to the side, feeling the way the space inside the seat of her panties opened up. When she let go of her cheek, the seat of her panties was pinched between her thick seat cushions, gently riding into her valley. Her face felt hot, again. Why did she...Why did that...?

She reached further up, then stuck her fingers under the hem of her miniskirt. She found the thin waistband of her panties and tugged, gently pulling up at her own underwear. The seat was quickly pulled into her cheeks in a little wedgie, digging right in until the soft material was taut across her star, playing with the tiny folds of her ring. Her nostrils immediately flared as she took a deep breath of his musk. Yes, that was the feeling...That slutty feeling of her underwear riding up into her ass. Now she could feel it, too, instead of just those girls. Why not? She was sucking dick just like one of the girls, wasn't she? She brought her arm back around and stroked up his leg, delicately running her long fingernails across his vulnerable mortal skin. He answered by sinking his fingers into her hair, panting above her head.

Erika pulled out all the stops. She started bobbing her head fast enough that her shoulders, shifting back and forth like they were, invariably had her enormous, unsupported breasts jiggling and bouncing inside her fishnet top, making her cherry-sized nipples brush against the mesh of fibers, teasing them like a hundred tiny fingers. Her shifting body had her rigid cock swaying up and down, lightly waving about in the space between her thighs, throwing around a string of her girly nectar for several seconds before it finally broke. His breathing escalated in time with a thickening in his cock, a swelling. A tiny teardrop rolled down from one of her shut eyes. He was gonna bust, right in her mouth...And there was nothing either of them could do about it. It had been the deal. Loser swallows the slime.

He gave a short, yet harsh, groan. Her backdoor started clenching at the finale and just wouldn't stop. All at once, his cock jumped inside her mouth, hard. A wild spattering of hot, thick semen blew against the back of her mouth, spraying around as it collided against the entrance to her gullet, sliding back against her walls from the force of his blast. She kept trying to bob her head like a mindless suck-toy, but he held her down, stopping the stimulation so he could blow his load more comfortably. Erika's knees trembled as he just kept cumming and cumming, draining himself without reservations. When he tried pulling her down even deeper, her eyes opened just in time for a wet feeling to start going up the back of her nose. He groaned, again, as his pour blasted back out through her nostrils, running down her lip as if the poor girl had a runny nose.

Erika's face went as flush as a tomato. He...He had blown her nose. The scent couldn't get any more potent than this. She had done this to girls, before. Was this what it felt like? How much fucking spunk could this paladin make, in those balls? Weren't these guys supposed to be eunuchs, for crying out loud? By the time he finished, he was panting. With their bargain so close to culmination, the compulsion had never been weaker...But, there was still no fighting it. Not until the busty little incubus, Erika, had taken that final step and done the unthinkable: swallowed down the mouthful this consecrated warrior of light had given her. When he let go of her head and slipped his flagging hard-on out of her opened mouth, the far end slathered in white, he quietly sighed with contentment...Begrudging contentment, she hoped.

She raised her eyes to gauge his reaction. Part of her told her she shouldn't have, but she still couldn't help but expect some kind of arrogance, some kind of sadistic glee. She couldn't get past the idea that someone would delight in this kind of deal, just like she would've done. Instead, he wasn't even smiling. He was just panting in the afterglow, watching her, watching the white and transparent puddle shift around inside her mouth, staining her tongue and teeth. When he took a step back from her, she slowly dropped her hands from him, bringing them down to her spread knees. Holding her head back so that he could watch her, she closed her mouth, sealing her smudged lips together. They never broke eye contact as she swallowed once, twice, and finally, thrice. Each time she swallowed, her throat visibly tensed under her collar. Each time she swallowed, the blush in her face freshly reignited.

It was hot going down, sticky but slippery, coating her throat like gunk. It tasted impossibly sweet, like droplets of honey had been mixed in - she was no expert on gargling a man's batter, but something told her that a legitimately semisweet flavour probably wasn't ordinary. The aftertaste, on the other hand, was more the usual bitter fare that she would've expected, but if anything, it made her stomach tingle...A sensation that quickly worked downwards, even as the compulsion wore off, completely. Deal completed. Their business, such as it was, was now concluded. She had upheld her end of the bargain, and now, no sort of behavioural blocks kept either of them in check. Once she had gotten down his baby-batter and sent it tingling into her tummy like a cupful of euphoria, her tail uncoiled from her thigh, her wings opened, and she stood right back up.

He watched her with a sort of blank look on his face. He didn't even bother pulling his pants back up from around his ankles. Her face was just as blank, even with the drool still streaked down her chin and the cum dribbling from her nostrils. Looking at the two of them, you'd almost get the impression that everything about their bargain had only been a joke to them both, and now, neither of them could believe that they had really been forced to go all the way with the consequences. He glanced downwards. Erika was still as hard as steel, her tip glossy with pre-cum. The thing looked agonizingly hard, with a tip and shaft both so red and swollen, the incubus' rigid baton looked liable to explode if it didn't go inside something within the minute.

Erika didn't say a thing. She didn't touch her clothes or fix her hair. She just spun on a heel and made for her den, marching towards the cave mouth. "H-Hey, Erika!" Luke called out, behind her. She could hear him scrambling to pull his pants up. She didn't stop. Just as she entered the cave, he called out "Wait! What about tomorrow?" She answered by raising her hand up over her shoulder, snapping her fingers. A dim, red curtain of light immediately stretched itself across the cave entrance, faintly glittering with sparkles of light, like miniature stars over a hellscape. It'd take a consecrated weapon to shatter a legitimate physical barrier, and while Erika knew Luke no doubt had one, he did not have one on him. He'd get the hint.

Erika wrapped her arms around herself, hugging herself as she descended into her dim lair, unrepentant erection so stiff, it could barely even bounce, even as her thick thighs shifted her bloated, sloshing beanbag around, drowning in the lust built-up in her system. Her eyebrows lightly arched as she looked downwards. Luke couldn't have known. Nobody else could, or would, know. Above all else, Balthazar couldn't know. Erika had just defied part of her punishment: to not fool around with men. "Do as thou wilt," yes, but only when it didn't defy your damnation, your appointed penance. She was an incubus, besides. If anyone heard she had sated a man without even feeding from him, not that she could, she'd become the laughingstock of the netherworld.

Erika's eyes shifted back up to stare into the distance as she walked into her lair. Luke, so...Not arrogantly self-righteous, like all the other paladins with whom she had crossed paths. Was he genuine? Was he really concerned about saving her, rather than banishing her from the mortal realm? Shit, if it weren't for his rather peculiar ability to withstand her sexual magic like some kind of seasoned demon hunter, she'd think he was just some idealistic rookie with more heart than brains, out to save any and every lost soul he came across, no matter what stripe they belonged to. Her soul was a tall order. She'd be fine if he could just save her from Balthazar, instead. He was notoriously cruel with charges who strayed.

For a guy with such nice lips, Luke sure didn't smile, often. She hoped he had appreciated her own, because this had been the one and only time he'd feel them on his body. Still, she supposed she'd be seeing him again, sometime soon. Paladins were notoriously headstrong, once they had begun their hunts. A cold smile began to spread across her face, even as she wrinkled her nose and fought a sneeze. He had never noticed how she had cheated him in the terms of their deal. She had never stated she would see him tomorrow, after raising her hand to shake. That was what mattered. His request had not been a part of the final terms. Maybe she could still turn the tables on him, somehow...She could do plenty of things with a pet paladin, joining her in the flames. She grinned as her eyes went dark.

She'd like to see how long that faith of his lasted, once he'd been tainted and abandoned...

~~End of Ch. 1~~

Chapter 2: Demon Milkings

Chapter Text

Incubus Erika

Part I ‑ "Lost Soul"

By: Jesse Racine AKA Samson

Original Date Written: September 4, 2016

The morning-after passed without incident. Erika never left her cave, and nobody ever came to penetrate her barrier. However, she fully realized that hiding wouldn't work, not forever. At some point, she'd need to face him, again. Finally, as the sun set, night fell fresh, and the hunger began anew, Erika emerged, dropping her barrier, herself. When she stepped outside, wearing the same outfit from the previous day, she took a quick look around...And swiftly spotted Luke's silhouette, leaning against a nearby tree. She immediately gave a sigh, muttering under her breath "Aw, shit." Once he saw her, he stood up from the tree and quickly strode out into the moonlight. He didn't so much call her name as he did speak it, keeping his voice under control as he unnecessarily announced his presence.

She briefly closed her eyes as she touched a couple fingers to her forehead. When she opened them again and looked over, she was immediately taken aback to see a sort of restrained regret on his face, a ruefulness that made his brow knit. Did he legitimately lament what had happened? Well...That made two of them, then. Unlike her, he had changed his clothes since the previous night. Now, he was wearing a white silk shirt with the top couple buttons left undone, the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. Down below, he wore a pair of green denim hosen, those tough, mountain-scaling boots still laced up tight on his feet. If not for the low-class boots, he might've looked like some sort of lord. Was he the son of a minor nobleman, perhaps, who fancied himself a holy warrior? Hmph.

He still had no arms or armour, as well as a complete lack of supplies or provisions. Her eyes narrowed. He must've had a campsite somewhere nearby, somewhere close enough to keep an eye on her lair. Her golden eyes met his own cyan pair as he tried to keep his words slow, evidently trying quite hard to keep them from jumbling out into mush. "Listen, Erika, about last night. I'm sorry. If I could've stopped us both, I would've. I didn't actually mean for you to do...That. I was just...Just teasing, when I said you should do it, too, if I won. I only wanted to talk, but I thought if I suggested it, I might look less...Threatening. Less stuck-up. I thought it would make me look more genuine, with you. I still want to talk with you, I'm not trying to be your enemy."

She wanted to turn away and walk off, give herself some space to bolt up into the sky and ditch this prick, but he wouldn't allow it. He came even closer, walking up until he was within arm's reach of the short incubus. Sensing her urge to, simply put, get the hell out of there for a night of hedonism, he hastily added "I wouldn't have ever made you do anything you didn't want to do. But, let's face the elephant in the room: the deal was your idea. I'm sure you planned on winning, but...Still, I'm sorry if I made you feel forced. When you just walked off without saying a word, at the end..." She furrowed her brow deep. Her mouth started hanging open as she thought of a hundred different things she'd like to say, all in a hundred different ways. She couldn't meet his eyes. She didn't want to.

She drew in a deep breath and, barely shaking her head a couple times, she sighed out "It's not that." He gave her a quizzical look. She finally looked up into his eyes, her brow still furrowed deep. Her lips barely moving, she muttered "I'm not allowed to do anything, with men. Anything at all. Not just because I'm an incubus. I just can't." One of his eyebrows slowly arched. Quietly, he asked "...Then, why did you make that kind of deal, with me?" She blinked a couple times in rapid succession, her eyes shifting around as if she really needed to search her mind for an answer. Her mouth hung open, a little, as she gave an exasperated sigh. Instead of answering him, she went on the defensive and turned the question right back around at him: "Well, why did you accept? If you had lost, the roles would've been reversed. That didn't bother you, at all? Paladins are sworn to avoid sexual activities, aren't they?"

He started giving her one of those friendly smiles of his. Arching his eyebrows higher, he said "At eleven inches, I'm not very scared of being smaller than anyone." "Well, you have to admit, I came pretty close," Erika quickly protested, almost sulking under her breath. He raised his eyebrows, gave a slow nod, and passively conceded "Yes, you're right, you did. You surprised me as much as I bet I surprised you." She didn't answer, didn't keep eye contact. The seconds began ticking by in utter silence, and every moment had Erika feeling more awkward, more uncomfortable. What was she still standing around, for? Why didn't she just tell this paladin to buzz off and take for the skies, already?

As if he were thinking the same thing, he repeated his earlier question, hoping to face the next big issue lingering between them. Slowly, he asked "So...Why did you offer that deal, if you can't do anything with men?" "I thought I'd win," she immediately spat, glaring up into his eyes. "You still would've done something inappropriate," he casually pointed out, crossing his arms over his chest. "It would've been easier to explain away," she snapped back just as quickly, golden eyes widening in annoyance as she crossed her arms beneath her breasts. There was another moment of silence, and then he said "...There's something you're not telling me." Her eyes instantly widened as the corners of her mouth dropped. That last remark of his was the straw that broke the camel's back.

Instantly, she muttered "I don't owe you anything, least of all things about my personal life." She turned and paced a few steps away. "You owe me a talk for this evening," he flatly pointed out, failing to follow after her. Erika couldn't resist a malicious laugh. Perfect! She threw her head back and barked, turning back around to face him as she threw her arms out at her sides. Raising her voice, she chewed him out with a grin, snapping "Actually, no, I don't, idiot! When I raised my hand for the handshake and went over the terms again, I never mentioned your request for a "discussion," and you never brought it back up! It wasn't a part of the final terms to our deal - I owe you nothing."

His expression began to harden as her deceit sank in. She dropped her arms and tilted her head to the side in a condescending sort of shrug. Grinning from ear to ear, she flatly said "I don't know where you're making camp, but skedaddle before I get back, or there'll be hell to pay. You have a few hours. I'm done dealing with some holier-than-thou soldier boy." As she beat her wings and lifted up, he stuck his hands into his pockets and called out over the rushing gusts of wind. "I'll be here when you get back!" She snarled, her eyes glowing as she warningly called back "You better not be!" She watched his cyan eyes unflinchingly stare back, as unaffected by her compulsion as he had been the night before. He stood his ground in the clearing, watching her wing up into the night sky. She tried to look away and ignore him, but when she looked back, he was still there.

She grit her teeth. Idiot wasn't going to take the hint this time, was he?

Horses. Horse cock. The way that long, black sausage had hung and bobbed as the stallion trotted over to the mare, that one summer afternoon at aunt Louise's farm. The way the saddle jutters and jolts between her thighs as she rides. A woman with a horse's cock, black balls hanging heavy between her thick thighs. Watching that blushing woman's cock begin to rise and grow out of the sheath, expanding higher and higher. Face burning and contorting as she bends under a horse, belly ready to split. Curdled loads of cum big enough to fill a bucket. Erika actually gave a laugh. First victim of the night, and the girl liked bestiality. Sometimes, these naughty little perverts still managed to surprise her. Aloud, she teased "Is that why all young girls are so interested in horses? They hear about how huge their cocks are, and just can't get over it? Hah!"

With a grin, she pinned the young lady down to her bed, glowing eyes widening as she flooded her victim's mind and all five senses with visions of sex. Simultaneously, every fantasy she had ever had about her precious horses played out in vivid detail, instantly giving her a sensory overload with all of her greatest kinks and desires. The young lady's nightie spontaneously went dark between her thighs, a shameful wet mark that rapidly grew in size. Erika chuckled hungrily as she stuck her hand under the woman's negligee and hiked it up against her arm. In a coy mutter, she said "That's right, just let it all go, girly...I may not have a horse cock, but I've got a fat ten inches that should suffice." The girl could only gasp for air as Erika came between her legs, spreading them wide. Next victim was wealthier, lonelier. Made for pointed fantasies.

Maids. Maid Sarah, with her enormous milk jugs stretching the thin white silk of her uniform. Being able to control someone and be in charge of them, making them do anything she wanted. Being able to order Sarah to drop her lacy black thong and pull out her fat cock. Telling Sarah to wank into her morning tea until her balls were empty. Putting on a toy to fuck Sarah raw, making her feel like a woman through her ass. Making Sarah tear up from the intensity of her anal orgasm until she breathlessly proclaims love. Erika rolled her eyes. This one had been a heavy sleeper. No need to fuck this rich wench into submission. Besides, she'd hate that, wouldn't she? She'd want to bust out her little "toy" and fuck Erika back, just like her sad little fantasy. No thank you, Erika wasn't about to be the fuckee for some wanna-be dominatrix. Talk about pathetic.

Instead, Erika's mouth opened wide over the woman's chest and throat. A faint sucking noise filled the air as a shroud of gray light, like an impromptu mist filling the space between them, began to fall off from the woman's skin, immediately being drawn up into Erika's vacuuming mouth. The more Erika fed, the paler the woman went, the heavier she breathed with strain. Erika's eyes closed to slits. Fulfilment. Nourishment. Satisfaction. Her life force held these things, and more. Erika's head went light with the rush of it all, and her heart pounded with renewed vigour. Once she had taken enough, she closed her mouth, making the sucking sound fade. The woman sighed and relaxed a little, but remained pale with sweat matting down her bangs. She'd live. Erika smirked and left her to her dreams.

Why not go for a third, she thought? Screw it, she already had a paladin on her ass. What's the worst that could happen? Two paladins? It'd give Luke more time to pack up his shit and get the hell away from her lair, anyway. She inwardly fumed as she thought of him. He'd better not be there when she got back, or else she'd...Do something. Tear his camp down, she guessed. Ripped off those nice, fancy clothes of his and left him freezing in the night chill. A nasty smile began to spread across her lips as she thought back. What had that girl's name been? Marceline? Yes, that was it. Oh hoh, Erika couldn't pass up such a ripe opportunity. Did she know her friend had the hots for her? Did she know her friend fantasized about her having a big, fat cock to plow her, with? Naughty, naughty.

Whether she was or wasn't aware, it'd be delectable to get inside her head, too...Maybe she'd even give Marceline a wink and a nudge about her good "friend," while she was at it. Erika zoomed through the skies with a cackle, rushing for the next nearest city. It took her some work, but she eventually tracked Marceline down in the rich part of town, inside a mansion to match her friend's. She tried not to chuckle sadistically as she quietly set down over the balcony, silently opened the conveniently unlocked doors, and stepped inside the bedroom. Erika smirked. Furniture and furnishings just as kitschy as her friend's. Canopy bed, though. That was nice. In fact, Erika should've gotten a canopy bed for herself, but the trouble was, the thing would've been a real bitch to transport from lair to lair in the inevitable relocations.

Erika's eyes narrowed as she spotted the figure through the bed's silk-thin curtains. There she was, the fair maiden herself, sleeping soundly like a babe. Erika moved as silent as a spectre, her bone heels failing to even tap the floor thanks to the enormous rug covering most of the lacquered wood. She sashayed up to the foot of the bed and gently began to crawl over through the canopy, careful not to wake the young lady as she rose along her body. The girl barely sighed at the disturbance in her mattress, but it was hardly enough to wake her. Erika didn't stop until her face came over Marceline's, her hands planted down on either side of the young woman's shoulders. She grinned, eyes slitted as she slowly looked her up and down. Cute girl, she supposed. Nice lips. Long, black hair...And, of course, those big tits her friend so dearly cherished.

Erika grinned wider as she, only slowly, stuck a long fingernail underneath the edge of the blanket, right at the young lady's collarbones. Careful not to disturb her, she delicately pulled the blanket back until it had gone over the swell of Marceline's bust. When she saw what the fair maiden was touting, Erika had to raise her eyebrows. Hmm...Not bad, not bad at all. Nowhere near as big as her own stupendous bust, but Marceline definitely still had a nice rack of her own. Erika could see why she had her closeted friend sweating bullets like a cold drink left out on a summer day. The cool air of her exposure quickly had the twin dots of Marceline's pink nipples raising up, pulling up tiny creases in the satiny fabric of her pink nightie.

Erika felt like flicking a finger against one, but instead went back to the more exciting task at hand. Why merely touch her when she could penetrate the girl's very mind? Erika opened her eyes wide, the magic making her golden eyes glow. She reached up and touched her thumb to Marceline's forehead, instantly piercing into the deepest, darkest recesses of her libido. Erika's mind flew to the stars on the wild rush that came. Like a shattered dam, it all came pouring out, the girl's sexual energy flooding Erika's mind in a list of kinks and fantasies, all neatly and coherently defined for Erika to witness, judge, and manipulate as she saw fit. Even in her sleep, Marceline drew a gasp at having the sanctity of her thoughts despoiled. Her secret fantasies, long kept to her lonely nights, were no longer private.

Men. Men with heroic physiques and gentle hearts. The blonde man she had seen at the market the other day, with a bulge big enough to make her swoon. Big, veiny cocks, shooting ropey loads big enough to scare her. Being held down to the bed and forced to take it, anyway. Sucking clean his cock after he blows inside. Being spanked for being slutty enough to fuck on the first date. Getting her stinging, hand print covered cheeks pulled open before he takes her anal virginity. Getting fucked on the balcony until she gushes for the whole world to see. The musky smell of a man's dick when he goes the morning without bathing. Wearing lingerie instead of a dress to her wedding. Waking up her husband every morning with breakfast in bed and a blowjob. Men! Men everywhere!

Erika grimaced. Not because Marceline's many fantasies were fairly mundane, and thus, a boring slog to work through, but for two other, very specific reasons. The first, and most important, was that she had expected the fantasies to be the same sort of homoerotic thing she was used to, just like all the usual girls that drew her in. She had expected Marceline to be fixated on other women, especially if she or those other women were packing heat in their panties. That was the trouble with seeking someone out instead of being drawn - you never knew what you'd get. Instead of the usual fare, she had been assailed with the flashing images of all of Marceline's needy fantasies about men, and it caught her more than a little off-guard. The second reason Erika had to grimace was almost as important.

That blonde man Marceline had fantasized about? Erika had recognized him. It had been Luke.

Erika gave a long, shuddering sigh as the rush wore off. Her brow furrowed as she watched Marceline's face, her mouth just barely hanging open as the girl's eyelids flickered. A moment later, she was raising them. Imagine her surprise when she found herself underneath a horned, winged demoness with a flushed face and lust in her eyes. Marceline went wide-eyed in an instant. Erika watched as the young woman's eyes darted downwards before she raised her head, a little. Erika looked downwards, herself. The incubus was sporting such a violently stiff erection, the foot-long despoiler of innocent maidens had practically hiked up her miniskirt in a bid to get free, with the narrow waistband of her panties maintaining a very tenuous hold on the very edge of Erika's tip, a hold that was quite thoroughly threatened by the pre-cum Erika had already oozed. At any second, that thing was gonna spring out.

Marceline sucked in a gasp, but before she could scream, Erika slapped her hand down over the girl's mouth. Her lips twisting into a frown, she looked up and gave Marceline a withering glare. Her mouth barely even moved as she quietly muttered "Not a word. Not one word. This is your fault, you know." She widened her eyes as they began to glow, and as the visions of sex began to fill Marceline's mind, Erika remarked "Take it back. You wanna see your crotch's deepest wishes? Here they are." No sooner had the words left her lips did a hand suddenly grab her by the back of her head, fingers clenching into her thick, silky hair, taking a fistful of her crimson locks. The keen edge of a knife came over to her throat as a man hissed "Get away from my daughter, demon."

Erika's eyes remained wide, but the glow coming from her golden irises subsided. Her lips settled into a firm line. Marceline may not have gotten the full extent of the visions, but she had experienced most. The young woman, face already slick with perspiration, watched Erika with dilated pupils. Lights were on, but nobody was home. Marceline had seen enough to practically set her panties on fire. When Erika slipped her hand from the girl's mouth, she said nothing, breathing hard in wanton need. The man pulled at Erika's head hard enough to make her wince and grunt, making her hiss "Hey, watch it! That hurts, asshole!" "Shut it," he snapped, dragging her up to her knees over his daughter, then to her feet, pulling her over until she stumbled through the canopy and off of the foot of the bed.

"How dare you touch my fucking daughter, like that. I don't know if a normal knife can kill a demon, but I'm damn well gonna enjoy trying." Erika curled her lip up, but then began to smile. "Real brave of you," she fearlessly taunted, "threatening to cut me, to my back. Can't look me in the eyes before you kill me? Some big man you are." She could practically see the arteries popping out on his thick neck, pressing out like cords from sheer rage. "Fuckin' bitch," he spat. He let go of her hair and spun the demon around, just like she had wanted. When she turned around, the instant he met her glowing eyes, it was all over. Erika grinned as his muscles visibly went limp, his face drooping as he went slack-jawed. The knife fell from his hand with a quiet thunk against the rug.

She chuckled as she reached out, planted her hand against his chest, and shoved, sending him collapsing flat on his ass hard enough to shake the floor. Erika clicked her tongue and shook her head, quietly remarking "There, isn't that so much better? You just sit there and cool your head." Compulsion filled her voice as she added "You'll forget all about me, come morning...But, your sweet baby girl sure won't. Now, just for putting a knife to my throat, I should be fucking her extra hard right in front of you, but I'll go easy on her, this time. Next time, you act like such a tough guy, I won't be so lenient." He just nodded, dumbly. Erika turned her eyes back to the bed. Marceline was watching her in terror, quaking like a dying leaf against the breeze as she held the covers up to her chin.

Erika gave her a nod and remarked "Your friend wants to eat your pie like she's at a carnival contest. Shame you like men. You might wanna have a chat with her." Marceline gave her a bewildered look. Erika only laughed at the seeds of drama she had just sown, opening her wings before taking off back out through the balcony door, leaving father and daughter behind. She didn't bother looking for a different victim to make for a third meal. Instead, she winged straight for home, hoping that Luke had done the smart thing and had, to use a colourful manner of speech, fucked right off the edge of her dick. If he hadn't, well...She'd have to be more persuasive in order to get rid of him. Wasn't really worth the effort, though, to be honest. Paladins never willingly gave in or changed their minds, once the hunt was on. Either she'd have to kill him, or pack up shop and set up elsewhere. Even then, he'd only track her down, again.

Her brow furrowed. Still, she had to try. Another deal, then, to be rid of him? Something, anything, to get him skedaddling. He seemed more reasonable than most paladins - maybe, if he really wanted to avoid bloodshed on either side, she could somehow convince him to just respect her choice and buzz off. She sighed against the rushing wind buffeting her face. This all would've been so much easier if she could just compel him into doing what she wanted. At least he wasn't immune to the magic of bargains. Another deal might've been the only way. It'd need to be something she knew she could beat him at, something where the binding of an agreement would keep him at bay, when he lost.

She had a giggle. Cumshot contest, maybe? She already knew for certain that her loads would dwarf his. Hmm...That might actually be an interesting idea. Her smile at the fantasy faded as she thought over how he had known so much about her. He hadn't been wrong when he had said it had been nearly one hundred years since she had become an incubus. Hearing some vague whispers around the campfire in her hometown would make sense, but after one hundred years, would anyone really remember things to that sort of exact clarity? Things like her middle name should've faded away into obscurity a long, long time ago. And then, there was how Luke had known precisely how long she had been using her latest lair, for.

Her jaw tightened. It didn't add up. He knew too much. No paladin had ever put in this kind of research work, before. They came, they drew swords, they died. Why was Luke different? She didn't set down, straight away. She circled the skies over her lair, trying to pick out any sort of campsite in the immediate vicinity. Nothing in sight. After a few minutes of wasted effort, she simply touched down, again needing to pull her bone heels out of the dirt with how hard she landed. She quickly looked around in a cool stare, her brow furrowed. No sign of him, so far. Maybe he had done the right thing and moved on? She'd better not go down into her lair and find him lounging about on her bed, or anything. Fuck, if he did that...Ooh...Just the thought had her clenching her fists.

She had barely taken five paces towards the cave mouth before she heard the rustling in the trees, behind herself. Her brow sank deep as she momentarily shut her eyes in exasperation. Nope. Guess it had been too much to hope for that he'd taken the hint and given up, after all. Her jaw locked up as her tail rose up in frustration, but then, she was sighing the tension away in a great, body-deflating gust. When she turned around, lo and behold, there stood Luke, his hands in his pockets as he nonchalantly strode towards her. Eyebrows raised, he passively asked "All done, for the night? Good. Ready to talk?" "How many fucking times..." Erika started off, trailing off as she remembered her Plan B.

Getting angry with him wasn't going to work, it wasn't going to help matters, and frankly, it wasn't going to get her the answers she wanted. She momentarily closed her eyes, gave another little sigh through her nose, and hastily asked "Don't you have somewhere to be? How can you just hang around my cave, all day and night? You dress pretty well. You a noble, or something? Don't you have an estate to manage, somewhere?" When she opened her eyes, she found him grinning. Holding back a chuckle, he shook his head, placidly answering "Nope, not a noble. Thank you, though. Glad you like the clothes. No, you're the sole focus of my time, right now. While the hunt is happening, you're all I have to care about." "Great," she promptly, and dryly, answered.

Narrowing her eyes, she quickly added "How do you know so much about me, anyway? Things like my birth name, and such...I doubt anyone remembers that, anymore." He raised his eyebrows, his grin fading. Quite readily, he answered "You might be surprised. It's part of my job to know stuff about the people I'm hunting." She shook her head, immediately calling him out on what seemed like a pretty blatant lie. Her tail snapped to the side with agitation as she blurted out "Uh-uh, no dice. Try again. No other paladin has ever tried to even talk to me, before. None of them knew my name, or the town I came from, or how I died. They only knew me as the big, bad demon that had to go kaput. It's not your job to be a historian, it's your job to be a demon hunter."

When he lightly sighed, she knew she had him. He looked down towards the grass. When he looked back up a moment later, he confessed "...Okay, maybe it isn't my job to know everything I can, about you. But, it should be." She gave him a cockeyed look, putting her hands to her hips. She stuck out a hip, held out a leg in a somewhat sassy pose, and asked "How do you figure?" He arched one eyebrow as he slipped his hands out of his pockets and crossed his arms. Her eyes momentarily dropped to his lips as he spoke, but then she was looking back up. "We should be saving souls, not banishing them," he explained. "How can we claim the moral high ground when we aren't doing anything to actually save the people we see are damned? Surely, everyone deserves another chance. If the will to repent is there, God can accept anyone back, no matter how far they fall."

Erika's brow furrowed. Hearing such a downright moronic opinion quickly had her blood boiling, but she found herself retorting instead of ignoring, remarking back "How very idealistic of you. I don't think things quite work out that way, bud." She briefly narrowed her eyes as she gave half a shake with her head. "Give it a couple years," she said, "and you'll be just like all the other paladins: jaded, heartless, ready to kill at the drop of a hat." "I hope not," he patiently answered, lightly raising both eyebrows. She stopped glaring, at that. Her expression softened as she looked off to the side. She looked over once he spoke again, spying his big, somewhat smug smile. "See," he warmly said. "After everything, we're talking. You didn't need magic strongarming you to chat with me, tonight."

Her brow sank. She dropped her hands from her hips as she said "Yeah, well, we're done, now. I'm ready to turn in, for the night. I'm not standing out here and arguing philosophy with some zealot." As she turned and walked off for the cave mouth, he followed, passively replying "I'm hardly a zealot, Erika. Faith does not a fanatic make."

"Yeah, well-"

"Can I come inside? We can talk, more."

"What? Fuck no! You, stay here. God, you're like a lost puppy that just won't get the hell off my doorstep!"

He grinned and chuckled, at that. She narrowed an eye at his laughter, her tail swishing about with annoyance. They stopped walking and faced each other, and once he had stopped chuckling, he looked her in the eyes and gave her a rather simple ultimatum. Smiling, he calmly stated "Erika, I'm only trying to help you. That's all. I just want some of your time to talk. I'm not going to hurt you, I don't want to hurt you. I know you'll only attack me if I attack you, first. That, right there, proves you aren't a monster." Her teeth went on edge. Her voice faintly echoed as she forcibly ordered "Leave me alone." His smile faded as he lightly shook his head. "Still won't work," he commented. "You can't compel me any more than I can, with you. If you want me to go away, talk to me, tell me why."

She gave a great sigh, nearly baring her teeth in annoyance. "Why are you making this so difficult?!" She snapped, throwing her arms out at her sides. He arched his eyebrows and flatly retorted "Because you deserved better." His answer hit her like a punch to the gut. She immediately dropped her arms and looked off to the side, avoiding his cyan eyes. Things between them went silent, for a short while. She ended up crossing her arms beneath her breasts, while he uncrossed his own and slipped his hands back into his pockets. Eventually, he spoke up, repeating the same old sentiment: "I'm just trying to help you." She looked back over, staring him right in the eyes. "And, I've said that I don't want your "help," Luke," she answered. "Whether or not you believe me, you should respect my answer."

"Even if I think I can help you?" He asked, narrowing an eye. She nearly growled in annoyance as she snapped "You know what? I think this settles all doubts. You are a paladin, because only a paladin can be this heartbreakingly fuckin' stubborn. No means no!" His face lit up in a smile as he chuckled. She looked off to the side, ignoring the knot in her belly. "...I'll make you another deal," she remarked, tilting her head to the side as she looked back into his eyes. His smile immediately died. Giving her a stoic look, he gave the expected answer: "Why would I accept another deal when you cheated me in the last one?" She smiled a little, innocently cooing "Because I won't cheat you in this one?"

He crossed his arms, giving her an unimpressed stare. She sighed, letting her shoulders slump. "Alright, yes, I cheated you, but like you said, we ended up talking, anyway! That counts for something, right? Besides, you know how making a deal works, now. I won't be able to pull that stunt a second time." He continued to stare at her for a couple seconds, then looked off to the side in thought. After a moment of contemplation, he looked back into her slitted eyes and asked "...Assuming I accept...What's the bet going to be, this time?" She gave him a playful grin and put her hands to her wide hips. With a wink, she said, without even the faintest hint of shame, "Cumshot contest. We jack off into cups and see who drops the bigger load. Winner shoots more cum. Think you can stomach that, mister paladin? Is cumming twice in two days too much, for you?"

He gave a sigh, which only made her grin all the bigger. He raised a hand to his forehead, briefly rubbed his fingers against himself, and sighed out "And what would the winner get, then?" She chuckled. Her eyes widening with merriment, she tilted her head forward to look up at him, brought a hand up to her chest, and said "Well, if I win, I wanna put you on your shoulders and jerk you off into your own mouth. Then, I'm gonna pour both cups of cum over your face. Then, you're gonna go far, far away, and never, ever bother me, ever again! It'll be great. You'll see." He sighed, again. Dropping his hand from his face, he wearily answered "That's...Quite the prize. What would I get, instead? All I want to do is talk with you. It'd be more fair if all you asked for was for me to leave you alone. Why throw in the extra sex?"

"Because it's fun, prude," she quipped, throat humming with a subdued chuckle. "But, you said you aren't supposed to do anything with men," he nonchalantly pointed out, narrowing an eye as he raised an eyebrow. Her grin quickly withered to only a small smile. Her eyes narrowing, she waved away his concern, remarking "This is different. I'm not actually sating you, this time. I'm just embarrassing the hell out of you. That, I can do, man or no man." Raising her eyebrows, she tilted her head to the side, her smile strengthening as she softly added "If it's too much for you, you can just walk away. If it's too scary, well, you can do the same thing to me, if you win. You're not going to. But, if you do..."

Luke arched an eyebrow, looked off to the side, and considered the terms. Her smile slowly stretched into a grin as she watched the wheels turn inside his head. She had him. He was taking the bait. When he looked back over, he sighed through his nose, curtly remarking "Fine" as he held out one hand. Erika almost giggled. Gotcha. She held up a hand of her own and went over the final terms. "So, cumshot contest. Winner spits the bigger load. Loser gets a handjob to the face, along with the cups poured over their face, for good measure. If I win, you stay the hell away from me from now on, and if you win..." She sighed, rolled her eyes, and begrudgingly added "...I will spend an evening with you, just to talk about whatever you want. I don't guarantee to agree with what you say. All this deal guarantees is, I'll listen to you. That's it...Going a bit fast with this relationship, over here."

He furrowed his brow, a little. He pointed a finger at her, adding "Tomorrow evening. Let's just make that clear, so you don't try finding a little loophole and saying the evening will come fifty years from now, or something ridiculous like that. Tomorrow. Sunset. A few hours." She gave a great big grin and chuckled, somewhat sheepishly mumbling "Uh, yeah, eh heh. Good point! I almost didn't think of that. Yes, I will give you tomorrow evening. For real, this time. If you win." He narrowed his eyes. She just grinned and waited, trying not to snicker. After some deliberation, he took her soft little hand, gave a pump, and said "In that case, I agree." Again, the fiery lightshow signalled the sealing of their temporary covenant.

Bloody red light burst from between their clasped fingers and curved around their arms in ribbons of light, displaying the impregnation of irresistible compulsion inside both of their minds. For a second time, incubus and paladin had entered an ill-advised agreement with sex on the line. When the light faded, Erika let go of his hand and playfully said "Wait here, I'm gonna grab some cups. I'll be right back. Might as well get warmed up, while I'm gone." "Don't take too long," he calmly warned, which only had her looking over her shoulder and grinning. With a spring in her step, she made her way into her cave, her tail swishing excitedly behind her the whole way.

Indeed, this was the second time she had unwisely offered a deal, and the second time he had unwisely agreed. Only, this time, Erika knew she was guaranteed victory. How could she afford such certainty, one might ask? Well, it was quite simple: she had already sucked him off. She knew what kind of load he could make, and she knew her's were messier. It really was as simple as that. The first deal had had an element of risk, as she hadn't known for certain that his cock were smaller than her's, and had simply assumed so because her's was so large. Now, however, she knew she had him beat - it was his turn to feel uncertainty. The terms were sound. Nobody was being cheated, this time around. She was going to get what she wanted. She'd put him on equal footing with her, and then she'd never see him, again. Good way to end the night.

When she returned a minute later, a metal tankard in either hand and a sultry smirk on her face, she found him still dressed, but with a noticeable tent at the crotch of his pants. She shrugged with her eyebrows, held up the tankards, and said "Here we go. They aren't measuring cups, but I imagine the spunk difference between us won't be quite so fuzzy as it was with our dong sizes. Ready to play, little paladin?" He raised an eyebrow and grimaced at the sight of the tankards. A little uncertainly, he asked "...Are you sure this is fine? Because, I'm quite positive you told me that you aren't allowed to do anything with men, anything at all. I think this constitutes a big something." "This is fine," she asserted, grinning at his reluctance. Oh, she had his number, alright, and he knew it. He knew he had bitten off more than he could chew, this time. There was no talking his way out of this.

"I'm not touching you, you're not touching me," she playfully explained, shrugging her little shoulders. "Even when I win, I won't be sating you, not like last time. I'll be making you cum on your own damn face, which is definitely in a different category from sucking you off. Humiliation is fine. And, really? I'll be one-upping you after last time, and then, you'll be staying away from me. This deal is a bit more acceptable than the last one." "One-upping me?" He repeated, with a hint of confusion. He gave her a bit of a rueful look. His jaw momentarily shifted to the side before he parted his lips. "...Did you really hate last night that much, that you want revenge? I said I was sorry, and the deal was your idea."

She just looked at him, for a second. Neither of them said anything. She reached out and stuck a tankard into his left hand, changing the subject as she instructed "You're a righty, aren't you? Here, we'll face each other, this time. Just beat your meat into the cup, and let's settle this, once and for all. I'd like to get back to my normal routine, thank you very much, and coming home to a paladin is a new part I could do without." He gently sighed through his nose. The disappointed look on his face made her stomach twist, for some bizarre reason. She furrowed her brow and indignantly snapped "Stop looking at me, like that! There's nothing wrong with what I do, you self-righteous ass! Hey, be thankful I'm doing everything I can to get you out of this without killing you!"

"You could get me out of this if you just talked with me," he forcefully stated, staring into her eyes. She smiled and reached down, hand going up under her miniskirt to hook her thumb into the waistband of her panties. "Gonna have to beat me for that," she playfully reminded. He gave another little sigh through his nose. "...So be it," he ominously mumbled. He reached down, undid his belt, unzipped his denim hosen, pulled his pants down his thighs, and let his behemoth of a cock come swinging out. Erika pulled down her panties, hiked up her skirt a little, and let her own monster foot-long come sproinging free, the two rigid cocks pointing accusingly at each other's owner. Time to get this farce over with. Was he honestly naive enough to think he could even so much as match a sex demon's semen output? Erika was gonna blast this tankard, then toss the whole thing in his smug face!

Almost simultaneously, they each grabbed their respective slabs of man-meat and began tugging, stroking themselves directly in front of each other for their opponent to witness. Erika started to grin wide enough to show off her long incisors, her smouldering eyes running down from his face, coasting across his body until she got to that giant prick, vigorously stroked from base to tip by the tall, muscular paladin. She followed his shaking arm back up to his eyes, then winked and puckered up, blowing him a kiss. His brow furrowed, a touch, at the taunt. She closed her lips in a giant, self-assured smile, turning her head to the side to face him with her cheek, giving him an innocent "Who, me?" look.

He never watched the way jerking off made her arm shake and jiggle her breast, making both enormous pillows lightly quake inside her fishnets from her efforts to get herself off. He never watched her hand stroke across the length of her salty cunt-crusher, despoiler of virgins, stretcher of innocent vulvas far and wide. He never observed her stroking technique, the way she frequently went from full-length strokes to shorter tugs near the tip, alternating between the two to stimulate herself as much as possible. He certainly never watched the way her fat undercarriage gently shifted and swayed overtop her panties, her swollen balls getting pulled about by her tugging efforts. Instead, he always watched her eyes in a chilly stare she could only attempt not to find intimidating. Otherwise, he was simply looking past her head, staring off at nothing in particular.

She started to grin. Why not tease him, a little? Have a little fun with it! Should they really do this silently? No way, that'd be boring! If this was their last time seeing each other, she might as well make the most of it, right? She gave him a nod upwards, her eyes locked down on his cock for several seconds before finally drifting up to his eyes. "Is that how you normally jerk off? I don't think you're doing a very good job," she cooed. The corners of her lips barely went down in a playful frown as she shrugged with her eyebrows. "No big surprise there," she added. He arched an eyebrow. She turned her head to the side again, facing him with her cheek, giving him a sultry sidelong stare as she offered "Want me to show you how it's done? I can give you some instructions...Just some little pointers to get yourself off good. You'd like to follow my example..."

Her eyes widened and began to glow. "...Wouldn't you?" His brow furrowed deeper, turning his already cold stare surprisingly angry. "Still won't work," he muttered. She gave a sigh, the glow in her eyes dying. His standoffish answer had her looking away from his eyes, her smile faltering for but a moment before she brought it back. Almost under her breath, she remarked "...You know, this all would've been so much easier if you had just cooperated, with me." He raised his eyebrows and indignantly retorted "I could say the same for you!" She looked back over and grinned, chiming back "Well, I'm nothing if not stubborn. I guess we have more than one thing in common, after all." "What was the first?" He asked, narrowing an eye in confusion.

She gave a hungry chuckle and remarked "Do you really have to ask?" He rolled his eyes, which only made her giggle. Her slitted eyes dropped to his crotch, again. She gave him another upwards nod, then said "...You should really pay more attention to the tip, that's where you feel the best. If you don't tease it, you'll barely even cum." "I don't need your advice," he grumbled, furrowing his brow at her. She grinned from ear to ear, winking at his agitation. When he picked up his pace, she followed suit. With barely a breeze that night, the clearing outside Erika's cave began to fill with the fleshy clapping sounds of masturbation, the two of them milking their distended pricks right in front of each other like lechers, tankards ready to catch it all.

As the pleasure truly began to mount, they stopped bickering. Uncontrollably, they focused on the task at hand: getting themselves off as best they could for the biggest load possible. Here they were again, demon and paladin, stuck in yet another deal, playing another game, jerking themselves off in the night. It was like deja vu, only this time, they weren't back-to-back, and planned on actually finishing. They could see it all, would get to watch each other finish, observe each other's O-faces in all their naughty glory. The thought of showing him just how much spunk she could make only had her bull balls tingling, boiling as her unholy seed bubbled and sloshed. Oh, she'd show him who's boss, alright. Her eyelids flickered before she began keeping them shut. Fucking hell, she was gonna bust when this was over...

Erika spaced her feet a little further apart. Luke gently leaned over, a little. As the minutes went by, the moans started coming. They started small, at first. However, with the pleasure of their mutual masturbation rising and the sounds of each other's efforts filling their ears, it wasn't long before the both of them were breaking down. It started with hums and coos, but escalated to groans and grunts, and eventually, panting and steamy moans. Erika edged her orgasm long enough to start sweating, sending a fine sheen across her flawless skin. Eyes closed, pouty pink lips barely parted as she panted for air, the noise of her stroking had sped up to a full-on clapping, the incubus stubbornly jerking from root to helmet hard enough to slap the bottom of her fist into her crotch. In a way, the vixen was giving herself a standing ovation.

She gave another moan, eyebrows arching as a spike of pleasure flared in her tip, making her hot, firm shaft pulse with need. She could feel a droplet of perspiration running down her temple as she opened her eyes, heavy-lidded and glassy with need. He was watching her, trying not to let his mouth hang open as he barely managed to keep his eyelids raised. Her stomach tingled, a little, as they made eye contact. Seeing him watch her chipped away her final bit of willpower, and she finally stopped edging. She closed her eyes, screwing them tighter and tighter as the tenseness in her crotch escalated. She almost didn't remember to bring the tankard over, but when she pointed her cock down into it from over the rim, her chest shot up and down under the force of her panting.

The hot tenseness in her cock spiked as her oversized orbs pulled up. Her mouth dropped open as she gave a loud, trembling moan, her voice echoing throughout the clearing as the naughty incubus worked herself over the edge. Her wings opened wide. She hung her head back. Her tail tensed and rose, the spaded tip barely twitching from side to side. When Erika popped her top, there was no mistaking it. Luke watched the jets of pearly semen spurt from her swollen helmet straight down into the tankard with a surprising amount of pressure, rapidly firing long, thick rope after rope with enough force to bypass even the most resistant cervix. Erika shuddered as a rather loud, rather embarrassingly distinct "pssht-ssht-ssht" began to fill the air from the force of her gunk hitting the metal cup, her lances of spunk hitting the wall of the tankard with enough pressure to fire down to the bottom and almost cascade back up the opposite side of the cup.

Her backdoor unconsciously clenched up tight, and didn't stop until her overactive prostate had finally drained itself. Erika's orgasm carried on for almost thirty full seconds, but as the final dribbles and droplets of unhallowed seed ran from her slit and into the tankard, she announced it by giving a tiny, contented sigh, raising her eyebrows in relief as she panted. Her mouth hung open as she spent a few moments catching her breath, idly stroking her manhood with a firmer grip to milk out whatever semen lingered inside her cum-vein. Finally, when it was all over and she was ready to stop, she opened her eyes and smiled, obviously quite satisfied with herself. The euphoria of the afterglow washed over her body like a warm, comforting blanket, filling her from head to toe in an addictive sense of relaxation.

Luke was still jerking off, watching her settle after her finish. She brought the tankard away from her tip and raised it up, giving them both a good angle to look down into it, with. The metal tankard, which would easily hold at least two and a half cups-worth of ale, was almost two-thirds full with Erika's messy womb-filling load, the top of the milky, translucent "beverage" a little frothy with how hard it had churned, blasting into the cup. Erika looked up with a big, cocky smirk, her eyes going half-closed. Her lips barely moving, she mumbled "Let's see you do better than that, mister paladin. I doubt your hand's gonna make you pop better than my mouth did, and even then, you didn't make this much. Someone could sip this load for a full meal. You're good, but you're not this good."

Luke slowly looked upwards, and a moment later, his lips began to move in silent speech. She arched an eyebrow. Her smirk began to fade as she mumbled "...What're you doing. Hey, I'm talking to you. What're you up to?" He closed his eyes, those succulent lips of his still silently shifting. For a moment, she grinned. She raised both eyebrows and quipped "What, you praying for mercy, or something? You're not gonna get...Any..." Her eyes widened as her grin died. The corners of Luke's mouth began to rise in a little smile, his silent prayer continuing. Her brow furrowed as she barked "Hey! Stop that! That's cheating! You can't ask for help now! We're having a perfectly legitimate contest, over here! You're fucking cheating, Luke!"

He paused his prayer long enough to open his eyes and remark "Just like our last contest was legitimate, with you cheating me out of what I wanted if I won?" She almost stomped her foot with annoyance. She quickly put her tankard down on the ground and tried to thrust her hands out to cover his mouth, but the compulsion barred her from interrupting him in fulfilling his end of the contest, preventing her hands from coming too close to his body. Luke grinned and shook his head, saying "You never mentioned in the final terms of the deal that I couldn't up my load size, in any way! I'm not technically cheating!" Erika growled and ground her teeth together, staring daggers up at the paladin. In a huff, she hissed out "Motherfuckin' cunt-ass piece o' shit rat bastard!"

"If this is what I have to do to get you to talk with me, then so be it! I am not letting you get rid of me, Erika! Accept it!"

A golden light began to flood Luke's lap. Erika gasped and nearly stumbled backwards, raising a hand to shield her eyes as she squinted. Luke had to shut his eyes and grunt, but then, he was legitimately moaning through clenched teeth, sweat making his shirt cling to his chest. Once her eyes had adjusted, she watched in amazement. The light was still uncomfortably keen - no surprise there, considering the source - but eventually, she was able to make out that the glow was coming from none other than Luke's two humble balls. His undercarriage had began to emit a comforting yellow glow, like twin lanterns in his beanbag, radiating holy might in a display that had her shivering. When his balls began to visibly grow, her eyes started to bug out.

Her erection, which had slowly begun to flag in the afterglow, abruptly came right back up in full rigidness. Luke tried not to grunt as his undercarriage expanded, making the sanctified light of his pure seed intensify between their bodies. As his balls grew, his beanbag expanded to accommodate them, glowing like a bonfire with the intensity of his divine power. Drool nearly ran from the corner of Erika's mouth as she halfheartedly demanded "S...Stop that, fuck! Cheater!" He gave a loud, harsh groan, hanging his head down. When he started shooting, Erika squeaked out an "Eek!" and jumped back, raising a knee as she threw her arms up. A glowing white streamer of cum sneezed into his tankard with enough force to send droplets flying.

She watched with dread as the tankard began to glow, more and more semen pouring into it. Luke's balls quickly shrank back from nearly apple-sized orbs to match her own, all the way down to his usual, run of the mill size, large but perfectly ordinary for a rugged, testosterone-pumped man. The glow in the tankard rose and rose, until...She gave a great gust of a sigh. The frothy top of the semen visibly climbed up to the very rim of the tankard, filling it up with barely centimeters of capacity left behind. She put her hands to her hips and hung her head, puckering her lips in agitation as she shut her eyes and tried to come to grips with the outcome. She had lost. Again. And now, she would be compelled to spend an evening with him, listening to his drivel. Jesus Christ, Erika. What kind of mess have you just gotten yourself into?

Luke gave a shuddering sigh, smiling with euphoria as his big body gave a brief quake. His undercarriage no longer glowing, he opened his eyes and stopped stroking, giving his radiant tankard barely a glance. With a faint sigh, he leaned over, placed his tankard down on the ground next to her's, and quietly said "Well...I guess I win, this time." She rolled her eyes. She wanted to stick her leg out and kick over the tankards, but the compulsion prevented her from ruining anything related to the allotted price of the bargain. Already, the magic was seeping through her body, spreading across her like she were slowly slipping into a warm bath. In seconds, it'd be driving her on to assume the position. In the short time she had, she stepped right up to Luke, raised a hand, and jabbed a finger into his chest.

Glaring up at him, she snapped "You cheated. You said so, yourself: even though I cheated you, we still ended up talking. You looked down on me for wanting revenge, and you went ahead and looked for your own? You really think you have the moral high ground, here?" He raised his eyebrows, a little. He lightly shook his head and passively answered "I didn't look down on you, and this wasn't about revenge, but the fact that you cheated me does make it easier to swallow. I just want to talk to you, Erika - this deal wasn't my idea, it was your's. If I need to cheat to get through to you, then I'm sorry, but I can live with that. Plus, you knew I wouldn't be able to cum as much as you, and you still tried to entrap me, anyway. The deal was legitimate...But, it was loaded in your favour. Hardly fair of you, either."

How did he know that? She stammered and stuttered, trying to work through a defence. She barely had a couple seconds, however, before the compulsion began to force her body into moving. She tried to fight it, purely out of sheer stubbornness, but all she did was slow it down, a little. Her hands came down, grabbed her fishnet tank top, and started pulling it off, bringing it up past her head until she could drop it to the ground, completely baring her enormous, perky breasts. He could only stand there and watch, his eyes momentarily fixating on her stiff, cherry-sized nipples, her pierced one catching his eyes as it glinted under the moonlight. She undid the belt to her miniskirt and pulled it down her thighs just enough to let it fall past her hard-on, making her cock bounce back up once it had been freed, again.

Left in her panties, black garter belt, and fishnet stockings, she stepped one foot away from her miniskirt and kicked it away, then pulled her panties all the way down and threw them aside, as well. Her teeth went on edge as she tried to fight the unstoppable urge to fulfill her end of the bargain, but all it did was make the compulsion rise to audible levels, whispering at the back of her mind like an irresistible directive from the powers that be. "You made a deal. Get on your shoulders, put your legs in the air, and let him pet your cock. You made a deal. Let him see your little hole wink as you gasp, stroked by this big man. You made a deal. Don't hold back, let him see you blow as much cum across your own face as you can. Leave your mouth open, especially when he pours the cups onto you. You made a deal, and deals cannot be broken. Don't resist. Never resist."

Erika gave an impotent whimper of frustration. As she turned around, she heard Luke force out against his own escalating compulsion a very simple "...I'm...Sorry...Erika..." She didn't try to answer. His eyes uncontrollably dropped to her backside once she had turned around. That big, thick, cushiony ass, skin creamy, round, pert cheeks gently shifting against one another every time she moved her legs, was so tempting, it swiftly had Luke's resistance dropping several additional notches. He watched the way Erika's tail nervously swished, her wings folding as the incubus slowly eased herself down to her knees. Then, she sat herself down, forcing him to observe the way her over-padded seat cushions squished against the ground, reluctantly evoking more than a bit of inappropriate imagery inside his mind.

She carefully rolled backwards over her wings until she was over her shoulders and the nape of her neck, lifting her body up into the air until her knees were balanced over her shoulders. Her enormous breasts helplessly shifted upwards and almost framed either side of her face, ensuring that even if she missed her features, her slop would still hit her tits, at least. With her arms stretched out across the ground behind herself, she was balancing, just barely, with her long, violently stiff manhood pointed straight down towards her worryingly vulnerable face. Erika stared up at her own weeping tip with anxiety written plan across her pretty face. The compulsion ensured she was as stiff as possible - no welching on her part of the deal by going soft, now. As well, her balls were already tingling with inhuman productivity, hyperactively attempting to recoup the losses she had blasted into her tankard. There was no getting out of this. She was going to give herself a beauty mask.

She stuck her tail out from her body to try and maintain her balance, and when the compulsion to take part spurred him on, Luke came up to her, squatted by her head, and reached out. Erika watched, glassy-eyed, as his pole came thrusting into her vision from above her head, a bit of cum still smeared across the underside of his tip. Her cock was already twitching hard enough to pat her stomach even before his hand came in and gently settled over the left side of her ass, firmly getting a hold of her cheek, delicately squeezing her juiciness in order to help keep her body still. She watched, almost insensate by that point, the alien feeling of a hand taking her cheek making her cock swing in a hop. With his thumb squeezing into her pliable half, it was parted to the side just enough to open up her valley, exposing the nervously clenching pucker of her forbidden sanctum. There lay the demon, and it was winking.

His other hand came out towards her cock, ready to use it like a handle to keep her body still...And, to pump her until she helplessly blew like a volcano. He gave a faint grunt as he resisted, his hand trembling as it inched closer towards her veiny, pre-cum weeping manhood. She looked up as best she could to his face, but it was difficult with his girthy poker splitting her vision into two halves. He was grimacing, sweat on his face as he fought the compulsion with every fibre of his being. She slowly blinked. Was he fighting because he didn't want to touch her cock, or was he fighting because he didn't want to demean her, like this? Either way...It had her stomach tingling.

She had already given in, but here he was, trying so hard to fight it. No doubt he could hear the compulsion dictating that deals could not be broken, just like she had. Might as well just give in and get it over with. Why fight it now? If he hadn't wanted to do this to her, why go to the trouble of praying for aid? His fingers were inches from her cock as he gasped out "Erika...I'm...Sorry!...I didn't...Want this! I only...Wanted to...T...Tuh..." A tear trickled from one of her half-closed eyes as she smiled, opening her mouth as she breathed "Talk?" He groaned before his hand finally wrapped around her cock. The instant they made contact and the bargain began to go fulfilled, a great ecstasy popped in their minds, just like it had the previous night.

The encouraging euphoria flooding their minds reassured them that what they were doing was right, and finalized the dismantling of their resistance. Luke was hit harder than she was, and the rush that flooded him instantly had pre-cum burbling from his tip, right over Erika's forehead. Erika's eyes nearly began to roll back into her skull as Luke fully wrapped his fingers around her shaft, delicately squeezing her firm length. Her tail twitched, her legs gently shifted, but then she went still. Just like last time, they both went silent once the compulsion was in full swing. Luke started off slow at first, but that didn't last long. Erika's nostrils flared as she picked up his musk, drifting off of him like a cloud of lust. With his prick and balls almost directly over her face, smelling him was unavoidable, and it only made her head swim even more than it already was.

A couple droplets of stray semen and pre-cum began to dribble from her tip as Luke milked her, slowly stroking from base to tip, shifting her balls every time his hand came up to her root. Feeling her own warm nectar drip to her face and land around her mouth and chin only had her breathing harder, her throat vibrating with a moan. Oh, God...When she came, she was going to fucking drown herself in her own spunk. It'd feel so good, shooting so hard, only to feel it all drizzle and glaze her face in warm alabaster...Her feet gently twitched in the air as she hungrily moaned, leaving her mouth open as she kept her eyes shut. She was powerless to resist. All she could do was take it. Luke's hand was surprisingly soft, not the calloused meat-mitt she would've expected from a warrior, and with the compulsion controlling him, he wasn't at all bashful about jerking off the petite incubus.

She supposed a young bible-thumper straight out of the church wouldn't yet have the grizzled hand of a warrior, and she silently thanked him, for that. After a couple minutes of languidly milking her from base to head, he suddenly tightened his grip and ramped up his pace, veritably jerking her length. She groaned in discomfort as his hand batted up against her full, heavy balls, and he responded by shortening his pumps, stroking closer to her tip instead of her whole length. That had her giving an appreciative moan, a heavy sigh drifting out of her as more pre-cum dripped to her chin. He was good at this...Confusingly so. Prior practice? She wouldn't put it past him. Delicious thought. Erika's eyes were already rolling around insensately as she tried to hold on to consciousness. She didn't know if the compulsion would prevent her from blacking out, but damn it, she was getting close to finding out, one way or the other.

When his hand suddenly pulled her cheek further to the side, she opened her eyes and looked up. Her eyes widened as he leaned in over her, closing in directly on her derriere. The sight of those lips of his inching towards her backdoor had her panting so hard, she was practically hyperventilating. The compulsion didn't make him do that. Her cock visibly stiffened up even further, engorging with so much blood her veins popped out. When he came in with a steamy sigh and pressed his tongue directly against her tender ring, her legs immediately gave a kick in the air, her tail thrashed, and her wings attempted to open. She gave a loud, shrill moan, tears creeping from the corners of her eyes as she whimpered, giving girly gasps as he squirmed his tongue across her sphincter. A long, thick tail of sap began to hang from Erika's prick, stretching towards her waiting face. God, his tongue was boiling! She was too sensitive for this!

Every one of her exhales became a shudder as he pressed his moist mouth muscle against her, running it back and forth across her pucker, even as she clenched and flexed. His chin rubbed her taint, only teasing her more intensely. He waited until she had stopped flexing, then forcibly aimed his tip against her and shoved, sticking his tongue into her crinkle. Oh, fuck. His molten tongue was probing inside. Her eyes rolled back as her eyelashes fluttered. Her breaths became shorter and shorter, more and more shallow. Her mouth hung open in hardly a little "o" as she gasped like a fish out of water, but when he pulled his head back, took his hand from her cheek, and replaced his tongue with a finger, her mouth opened wider into a needy "0." She moaned encouragingly, and when he pushed his hand in, insistently sliding his digit straight into her hot lock, her legs started kicking. If he wasn't careful, he was going to break his incubus boy-toy.

Her tail almost went limp and fell, but she managed to keep it elevated. The firm cylinder of his fist pumped back and forth faster and faster, milking the naughty incubus for all of her salty evil, urging her to pour her own poison across her own blushing, pleasure-contorting face, to mark her beautiful, feminine features with her own manliness. She gave a high-pitched squeak of need as his finger slid up to the knuckle into her tight ass, probing into her forbidden depths, feeling the way her moist, silky insides clenched and clamped. He barely had to dig or curl his finger to find her oversized prostate, swollen like a muscly knot through her wall. She held her breath and stuck out her tongue, her eyes shakily rolling backwards as her eyelids sleepily fell. He gently pressed down against her button, softly circling his fingerprint around her bulge.

He didn't just push her over the edge. Playing with her ass like this was more like punting her over the edge. He never stopped stroking her cock, even as semen began fountaining from her tip in wild sprinkles, ivory droplets flying this way and that before she finally flexed her cock and sent a true rope flying. The droplets hitting her face and tits didn't get any immediate reaction from her, but when that first rope hit a bullseye and blasted straight into her extended tongue, using it like a red carpet to fly in all the way to the back of her mouth, she helplessly flinched, her brow gently furrowing as her own flavour filled her mouth. More droplets cascaded from her tip before she blew another streamer, and this one splashed her across the face, running along her nose all the way to her forehead.

She was giving herself a facial. A big one.

The very thought had her brow unknitting, making her eyebrows arch as she gave a great, heaving sigh, gurgling from the spunk in her mouth. God help her. The paladin was making this naughty incubus nut her own face like some depraved slut! She wasn't shy with the pour, she couldn't be, not even to save her own dignity. The gratification of not only fulfilling her own bargain, but simply in doing something so dirty to herself, had her lean, muscular tummy expanding and contracting in harsh pants for air. Her balls, drawn in tight inside her beanbag, held nothing back, spewing spume in another rope, another, then another. Some got on her face, some got inside her own mouth...Some got in her hair. The naughty minx couldn't close the floodgates even if she wanted to.

He slipped his digit back out of her ass and held her by the cheek again, ensuring she didn't tip over in the throes of her orgasm. Erika closed her mouth and swallowed her mouthful with a gasp, feeling the heat of another blast of semen coat her puffy lips in the process. Her own lust coated her throat well enough that she wanted to cough, but it didn't happen. When she opened her mouth again, she wanted to cry out in ecstasy, to speak God's name or perhaps even Luke's, but all that came out was a wordless whimper, a feminine wail as the bigger man milked his demon plaything. He slapped her ass hard enough to make it ripple in one big jiggle, and she answered with a mewl, begging him to be merciful. Don't be cruel with her! She may be a demon, but she still has feelings! Treat her well - she only wants your kindness, mister paladin!

As her flow came to a trickling, sputtering end, he slowed his stroking down and tightened his grip even more, firmly milking her from root to flared tip, feeling her pulse against his fingers, lifting her relaxing orbs with his fist every time he went up to her base. She panted away in the afterglow, trying not to roll her head left and right. The scent of her own thick semen. The musk of Luke's cock. Both flooded her senses without remorse or recourse, and she knew she was about to get even more. With their deal nearly concluded, the compulsion weakened enough for Erika to mewl out "Don't stop!..." He didn't yield to the needy request. He couldn't; deal had been one handjob. Luke slowly let go of her cock, leaving her erection to settle and droop.

He silently helped ease her body back down to the ground, letting her lie on her back over her wings. Her arms down by her sides, her legs stretched out, all she could do was lie there and wait for him to go the final step and finish her humiliation. She stared up at the sky as Luke stood up, took just a couple short paces over to the side, then came back. Again, he knelt down in her vision, his unrepentant hard-on jutting out over her forehead. She feebly looked upwards at his swollen tip, so engorged it was almost purple, but when he raised his hands over her face, she dumbly looked up, watching the bottoms of the two tankards, waiting for the pour. A couple seconds passed in silence. Erika was too out of it, too influenced by the compulsion, to feel any confusion at how Luke's hands trembled.

The tankards weren't tipping over. Nothing was happening. A hint of curiosity eventually registered in her foggy mind as her eyes shifted upwards, spying his face past his hard-on. She almost held her breath at what she saw. Luke was blushing red like a cherry, his brow barely furrowed with his jaw locked up. His nostrils flared with his husky breathing, the man's hands and arms quaking as he tried so hard to defy the compulsion, all for Erika's sake. Seeing him resist almost seemed to wake up part of her mind, reminding her that she had once fought this, too. Resistance really was futile, but there he was, trying as hard as he could not to degrade her by tripling her facial. He had manipulated the contest to win, but only so he could get the one thing he wanted. This wasn't it.

Her mouth opened up wide, again. She stuck out her tongue. She winked. She flexed her wilting hard-on to make it jump around. Still, he fought. The tankards jittered and jolted so hard that the semen in his own tankard, which still possessed an ominous glow, nearly spilled over the rim. She smiled. Man, look at him. Stubborn as a mule. Too pure-hearted to just baste her face in spunk. His fight was pointless, but it was touching, all the same. Seeing this kind of resistance in him made it easier to forgive him, all things considered. Before he let his resistance cost him something silly like a burst blood vessel, she lazily reached a hand up and broke him in one fell swoop.

Reaching under his cock, she found his balls, cradled them in her hand, and gave them both a gentle little squeeze with her soft fingers. It was all he could handle. The instant he gave in, new ecstasy burst in his mind, making him give a harsh groan of satisfaction. Erika closed her eyes the moment the two tankards began to tilt inwards. A second later, a hot, sticky flood splashed over her face in a waterfall, quickly joined in by another one, a half second later. Their combined spunk, her's salty and his semisweet, flooded her mouth, filled every pore in her face, and washed past her beautiful skin to run into her hair, droplets even splashing her two horns. Within moments, the spunk in her mouth overflowed and poured out in excess, some of which ran up her nose. Mercy! Mercy before she drowned! Death by cum-gargling? What would the other incubi say?!

It was over faster than she expected. As soon as he had finished pouring, the compulsion ended. Deal completed, a second time. Their business, naughty like it was, forbidden like it was, was at last concluded. Incubus and paladin were free to behave however they wanted. Air bubbles drifted up through the milky, translucent puddle filling Erika's mouth. A bubble of air rose up over one of her nostrils as her breath pushed at a layer of semen. She hastily rolled over and let it all run free from her lips, spitting, hacking, and sputtering as she fought to expel every single drop of semen, every single individual sperm, from her mouth. For his part, Luke half fell down, half sat down, as he hastily pulled his pants back up, shoved his hard-on back inside, and buckled himself up. Erika gave a sneeze, then remarked "Aw, fuck, it's up my nose, again..."

Luke hurriedly said "Erika, I'm sorry, I tried not to do it, I-" "I know that," Erika calmly interrupted, doing the best she could to sweep and scoop the cum away from her eyes before she opened them. She'd be damned if she let any of their slop give her a bad case of stinging eyes, and it showed in the care she took in clearing her forehead, eyebrows, and eyelashes of spunk, somewhat carelessly wiping her hands off on her stomach and hips. He didn't say anything, simply watching her for a few moments, waiting for her next response to the situation, which inevitably turned out to be "...Three loads is way too fucking much, I almost drowned, over here. Good God. It doesn't help that you upped your spunk, cheater...Damn it, it's all over my hair..."

"I'm sorry," he repeated, sincerity in his tone. "I didn't sign on, for that. I only wanted to guarantee you'd talk to me, I-I wouldn't have done any of that, if I could've. I didn't want to force you into something again, I just..." "Relax," Erika passively chastised. She finally got to open her eyes, looking over him with most of her face still smeared with a sticky beauty mask, drips and drops falling from her chin and jaw to land on her ample bust. She could see the remorse clear on his face, and it only had her smiling. God, look at him, there. He had accepted the deal, if only begrudgingly. He could've backed out before the handshake, if he had really wanted to. Instead, he had just gotten through pouring more than a couple cups of baby-batter over her face, and now he was sitting there, face a little red as he apologized, told her he hadn't wanted it, had fought it, and didn't want to force her? His indecisiveness was almost cute.

"It was all part of the deal," she reassured him, beginning to stand up. "I knew what I was getting into...And, you're right, I did try to trap you. I don't know how you knew. Maybe I'm bad at acting. I saw how much you were fighting it, at the end. I wasn't so out of it that I couldn't notice." She looked down at him, her eyes their usual half-closed shape as she mumbled "...I'm honestly actually pretty impressed. I'm sure you had already given in, by that point. So, to work up that kind of resistance, all over again?...I've never seen that happen, before. And, whether or not you cheated, the deal was set. Is set. I need to spend tomorrow evening, with you. Good job, I guess. Cheater."

He gave a little sigh as he stood up, his remaining erection keeping a long, snake-like bulge visibly trailing down his thigh. A little quietly, he protested "I didn't cheat, it may have been unfair, but I don't think the deal would've allowed real cheating anyway, and you weren't being fair, either. Today or yesterday." "Yeah, yeah," she dismissed, sweeping her hands down either side of her face. With a sigh, she swung her hands out to throw off the spunk, then rubbed them off over her belly with a grimace. "God, it's fucking everywhere," she exclaimed. He couldn't take his eyes off of her. White droplets in her clumped eyelashes. Smears on her face from hairline to chin. Milkiness in her hair. Lips glossy with more than just lipstick. Wet smudges, cloudy drops, running down her tits and cleavage, some catching at her nipples and areolae. Semen smeared all over her tummy and hips...And her big, fat, drippy cock, still hard enough to stick out a little, swinging and bobbing every time she moved.

After a moment, he quietly repeated "...I'm sorry, I didn't mean to do this to you." She looked up into his eyes and passively answered "Stop apologizing, I heard you. I know you're sorry. I know you fought it. You were trying not to embarrass me. Real chivalrous, of you." Raising an eyebrow, her voice became more confident as she asked "Why does this bother you, so much? You..." All at once, she started to grin. Her eyes narrowed. Her tail began swishing in measured strokes like it usually did as she raised her hands up, pressing them into either side of her bust, pushing her spunk-slathered tits closer together. Her hard-on slowly began to rise, all over again, as she cooed "Oh...Don't tell me you like seeing me, like this. Is that one of the secret kinks you've got locked away, deep down inside? "Girls" dunked in cum? This is too rich."

He gave her a cold look, immediately retorting "No." She grinned, winked, and arched an eyebrow. "Sure thing, soldier boy," she teased. He just sighed, at that. As she set about reclaiming her discarded clothing, he changed the subject, asking "Why doesn't this bother you? Last night, you walked off without even saying a word. This is better than that?" She furrowed her brow in a hint of annoyance. "Do I need to explain it again?" Snatching her top and miniskirt from the ground, then her panties, she looked over at him and said "Sucking a man's dick and drinking his load is in a different category than the two of us jerking off into some cups for some spunk-play." "But, I...Handled you," he pointed out, his voice a bit of a protest.

She arched an eyebrow again, grinning, a little. "Yeah, you sure did," she slowly answered, already turning to leave. Her grin widened until it stretched from ear to ear as she added "And, it sure felt great. Can't make a habit of it, but I can keep a secret this one time, if you can. Would've been more of a problem if I had jerked you off, but you won again, didn't you? You made me feel good, this time. That's a whole lot more acceptable than the other way around. Thanks." His face went a bit confused at the seed of doubt she so skilfully planted inside his mind. Had this all been some elaborate gambit to get a handjob out of him? Hell no, but he didn't know that, and now, he was second-guessing everything about their deal, putting a big, smug grin on her face.

She turned her back to him, leaving the soiled tankards behind as she sashayed her way towards her cave. She could practically feel his eyes on her ass, jiggling like a bowlful of jelly as she walked, her hips swinging with every graceful step on her bone heels. When he tried to speak, she just waved a hand past her shoulder, dismissively remarking "We made a bargain, paladin, and you won the contest. You're gonna get your wish. Be here tomorrow at sunset, and you'll get a few hours of my time. Appreciate it, cheater." "I didn't cheat!" He protested, trying not to raise his voice. She grinned and stopped walking, turning to the side just enough to look over her shoulder, one of her immense breasts visible past her arm.

She held her hip and gave him a smile, red in her cheeks as she met those cyan eyes of his. "I'll see you tomorrow, cheater," she teased, just before winking and walking off into her cave. Luke just sighed so hard his shoulders slumped. Well...At least he was going to get his wish, right? All that work...Would it even be worth it?

~~End of Ch. 2~~

Chapter 3: Stygian Harlot

Chapter Text

Incubus Erika

Part I "Lost Soul"

By: Jesse Racine AKA Samson

Original Date Written: September 18, 2016

Night made way to morning, morning to afternoon, and afternoon to evening. Even as the sun set, Erika was still mentally preparing herself for her appointment with Luke. While she was still picking out something new to wear from her limited wardrobe, she was already fretting over her hair. While she fretted over her hair, there was the makeup she had to get just so. Eventually, it occurred to her: why was she getting worked up, over this? The thought instantly had her crossing her arms and sulking. Screw this, she didn't need to put on any song and dance for some paladin. She'd throw on something new because she wanted to, not because she was trying to impress anybody. Her hair and makeup? Eh, she'd just do whatever. He could like it or lump it, for all she cared.

When her infernal portcullis spontaneously began to activate, she knew better than to ignore it. There was only one person who'd ever use it to try and contact her: Balthazar. Last thing she wanted was for him to make a house call. Still nude, Erika hurried over to her little table, sat down over her petite stool, and waited for the portcullis to finish activating. The portcullis was shaped a bit like a desk mirror, albeit one made of black, volcanic stone. It had a rounded base to stand over, followed by a tiny stem upwards that flared outwards in a wide "V" shape. Inside the twin prongs, a boiling red flame had erupted, volatilely popping and bursting as it spread apart in curtains of fire.

As the flame spread, it opened a portal to the other side, just big enough for someone's face to be visible from one end to the other. The portal, a tear in the limen between realms, rippling like simmering water, quite clearly depicted the startlingly inhuman face of Erika's overseer. Unlike Erika, Balthazar was a demon who had no reason to go to the realm of living, let alone a sex demon who'd need charisma to seduce. He did not have any reason to blend in, and his visage clearly betrayed how thoroughly he had been twisted, inside and out. His head was narrow, long, more like a canine's than a man's, with a metal helmet placed over his eyes, blanketing them in solid obsidian. His multiple curling horns sprouted from either side of the helmet, and as he spotted Erika through the portcullis, his wet canine nose twitched, his thin lips peeling apart in a feral snarl.

"There you are, Erika. Just the man I wanted to see."

His voice was like nails on a chalkboard, piercing into her ears and worming down her spine. Erika avoided giving a tremble at the uncomfortable noise, just barely, by raising a hand and running her fingers across the back of her head, tossing around her fiery locks. She tried her best to look nonchalant as she answered "I'm here. What's going on, Balthazar?"

"We have a problem. You have a problem."

"And again I say, what's going on? Help me out, here. I have an appointment to keep, if you don't mind. Plus, I'm about due to head out and-" He cut her off, his voice practically a bark.

"Shut. Up. I know about the paladin, Erika. I know you haven't killed him. What I don't know is, why? For two nights now, you've been getting chummy with him, chatting him up, and it's starting to make some of my fellows...Your fellows...Wonder just what the hell is going on, up there. This has never been a problem, before. You've already killed or corrupted more than eighty paladins, all on your own. Why stop at this one? You should've strangled the man with his own entrails, by now. What's. Happening."

Erika subtly swallowed some excess saliva. If she didn't handle this correctly, he would make a house call. Resolutely, she answered "I didn't plan on killing him, not unless he made me. I wanted to corrupt him, instead. It'd be much more fun, that way. He's young, fresh out of the church. Breaking his faith would be so much more delicious than just sending him to meet his maker, don't you think? At that age, when the faith is broken, it never comes back - and they fall, hard. Why give him paradise when I can drag him down to our level?" When the portcullis abruptly rattled over her desk, Erika flinched. Balthazar had grabbed his own portcullis so hard, it had made her's physically tremble. His wet, black nose tilted upwards with how fiercely he was snarling.

"Listen here and listen good, you little two-bit prick. If I find out you've broken your penance, you won't just leave Hell's service. You'll be cast so deep into the pits, you won't know which way is up and which is down, and after all this time, after all the shit you've done, no amount of repentance would get your fat little ass up to Heaven. Take my advice: don't tempt fate. You've already come close more than a few times with your corruption efforts. Kill this asshole. Now. Fuck your little moral code and fuck your infatuation with this toady. If I hear any more reports that you've been fraternizing with some holy warrior, I'll go up there and kill the both of you, myself. If I find out you've been playing "hide the salami" with him, I'll do much worse."

"Y-Yes, I understand," Erika obsequiously answered, her voice audibly cracking at the threats. Balthazar barely gave her time to answer before the portal was shutting, the flames disappearing with a quick pop. Erika gave a hard sigh as she looked down at her knees. Her heart was pounding. She knew Balthazar wasn't just talking tough. He had dealt with enough of his other charges in harsh enough ways to make Erika take him seriously. She stood up from her stool and set about dressing herself, moving in a listless haze. By the time she was fixing her hair, it had all properly sank in. Her heart dropped as she did her makeup. There really was no getting out of this. Balthazar would cast her down. Luke had to go.

When she emerged from her cave mouth, dragging her heels all the while, she slowly looked around. In spite of herself, she hoped that Luke had done the impossible and defied the compulsion of their deal, kept his distance from her even with the magic pulling him closer. When she saw him waiting not far from her lair, she gave a faint sigh as she eased one of her hands behind herself, getting it out of view. He walked out from under the shade of a tree, and when he entered the moonlight, the smile on his face made her stomach tingle. She arched her eyebrows, her pouty lips curving into a little frown. He'd never see this coming, would he? He knew this wasn't like her. She didn't murder. This was murder.

He had changed his clothes, again. Now, he wore a simple white wool sweater along with blue denim hosen, buckled up tight with a black leather belt. The low-class hiking boots were a mainstay, of course. As usual, he didn't have a single piece of armour to protect his body, nor did he have a single weapon to defend himself, with. He wouldn't stand a chance. His eyes subtly roamed across her body, taking in her new, less revealing outfit. She wore her short hair the same as before, and she still had on her pink women-seducing lipstick, but she had swapped her black eyeshadow for a dark red alternative, darker than her hair, with tiny swishes reaching out from the outside corners of her eyes. The black eyeliner remained, but she wore a little less of it this time in exchange for some mascara.

Instead of her fishnet tank top, she now wore a black corset pattered up the left hip with the beautiful imprints of flowers, the patterns sewn into the material with vibrant red thread. The corset, laced up tight over the small of her back, had cups barely big enough to accommodate the incubus' pale, bouncy bust - the cups were a little more than half as supportive as they should've been, making them put quite a bit more than a tasteful amount of cleavage on display as they only just covered her areolae. She still had on her collar, of course, which made a rather fashionable accessory to match her corset, what with the black leather. To accompany the corset, she had on a simple black skirt, pleated and hanging halfway down her thighs. She would've gone with her own denim pants, but the thing would've made her sexy stockings invisible, so what would've been the point? Sheathing her legs in delectably silky fabric won out, in the end. It usually did.

Erika wore, almost all the way up to the skirt's hem, a pair of thick black stockings, terribly erotic in their plainness. They had no pattern, no design, nothing to get in the way. They were just cotton sheaths, warm, soft to the touch, twin black roads for one's hand to follow as it swept up between her legs, making her breath catch when one's hand lightly pressed up against the hot, malleable mound packing full her innocent white panties. One would lightly fondle her, feel the way she shifted inside the fabric, feeling the way those stocking-covered legs opened up while the shape inside those panties grew, firmed up, stretched the fabric...Occasionally, that sort of lewd fantasy was all Erika needed to break in her victims. Luke wasn't quite as easily swayed, but he definitely seemed to notice the way her thick thighs looked in that tight black fabric.

The stockings only had one little alteration made to them. To make them accommodate her bone heels, Erika had all but cut off the feet of the stockings, removing all except for a string that would run between her big toes before connecting to the other side of the stocking, helping to keep the sheaths smooth and delectable. When Luke's smile grew bigger, Erika almost smiled back, but she just couldn't manage that sort of cruel deception. Instead, she simply looked drained. "Erika, you look beautiful tonight," he offered, perhaps trying to liven her up. "Ready to talk, a little? It's not going to be all about faith and God, you know. I wanted to get to know you, better. There are things about you I can't just learn from other people. You're the only person who can help me get the big picture."

"...Yeah, I guess I'm ready," she reluctantly answered, trying not to bite her lip. The hand she was keeping behind herself gave a twitch before she flexed her fingers. Her fingernails abruptly began to extend, growing outwards for several inches, the edges tapering out into points until her nails were more akin to claws. Her tail hung low, heavy. She couldn't meet his eyes, anymore. Once he was close enough, she could get it over and done with. One good swipe somewhere vital was all she'd need. The compulsion of their deal meant she wouldn't be able to kill him instantly, but she didn't need to. She'd have to make it slow, make it last hours. The thought made her quake. If she kept over-thinking this, it'd make her sick to her stomach.

She closed her eyes to fight the dew. This was murder. She didn't think she could do this. He didn't even see it coming. He trusted her, the big idiot. He never should've, but he clearly did. He had only ever just wanted to talk to her. The moron had only ever had the best of intentions. He'd have to take hours to bleed out. If she didn't do this, Balthazar would come after her. This wasn't right. This wasn't who she was. Luke had been right on that count, at least. If this meant she wasn't a monster, then she just wasn't. Balthazar or no, this was wrong on multiple different levels. When Luke saw the look on her face, he slowed to a stop, still safely out of arm's reach from the demoness.

She opened her eyes and looked over at him, watching those cyan eyes of his. He slowly raised an eyebrow and slipped his hands into his pockets. Again, his mouth hung open for a second, as if he needed to debate the words before he quietly asked "...Are you okay? You look a little...Anxious. You didn't seem upset about this, yesterday. Have you...Changed your mind, then?" Hearing his concern for her didn't make her lot any easier to swallow. When she just looked away without answering, his lips settled into a flat line. His eyes dropped to the ground in open disappointment. With a little sigh through his nose, he quietly added "...Well...In that case, if I could get you out of this, I would, but we're both bound to this. You know I'm just trying to help you, Erika."

Erika abruptly snickered so hard she almost blew a raspberry. A couple thin trickles ran from the corners of her eyes as she shook her head. She smiled. She couldn't do this. He didn't have it coming. He was an idealistic idiot, sure, and a bible-thumper to boot, but a sneak attack, like this? Some sucker punch to spill his guts? No. Fuck this. She was better than this, and Balthazar couldn't compel her into dealing with Luke however she didn't want. She'd rather take the risk of real damnation than do this, to him. Her nails receded back into her fingers, losing their edges. Luke, meanwhile, was openly confused by her bizarre reaction, but when he saw the tears, he finally finished closing the distance between them. A moment earlier, things might've turned out differently. Luck, maybe? More divine intervention? Her simply exercising free will? Whatever the case, he was no longer in any danger.

He walked right up to her and reached out, touching her right shoulder with one hand, touching her left upper arm with the other. "Hey, what's wrong? I, I'm sorry if you started to hate the idea of this, but-" "It's not that, cheater," Erika blurted out, trying not to chuckle as she grinned up at him. She watched those lips of his settle into a flat, firm line as she reached up between his arms and wiped her hands at the sides of her face. She swallowed some saliva to try and steady herself, then cleared her throat, somewhat unconvincingly adding "I just wanted to see if you'd care enough to ask, o-or if all you cared about was speechifying me about Heaven. It's nice to see you actually care about my feelings on this whole thing." "Of course I do," he quickly answered, arching an eyebrow at her. His eyes subtly narrowed as he added, in a mutter, "...And, I didn't really cheat."

"You damn well did," she teased, giving a single sniffle as she dropped her hands back down from her eyes. His eyes went half-closed in a weary stare. He slowly dropped his hands from her arm and shoulder, remarking back "All I did was guarantee you'd talk with me." "You did a whole lot more than just that," Erika quipped, smiling brightly as she blinked away the remaining dew in her eyes. He slowly sighed through his nose. She held her curvy hips, looking up and watching his eyes as she nonchalantly teased "Don't sigh at me like that, soldier boy, you know I'm right. Look, we're both here. You've finally gotten me all to yourself, for a bit. Let's get this over with."

He finally started to smile, which only had her grinning back at him. A little flatly, he repeated "Get this over with?" She raised a hand, poked a finger into his chest, and remarked "You heard me. I'm going along with this, but that doesn't mean I'm interested in hearing what you have to say. I'm not interested in talking God. Look at me. Do I look like the sort of person you'd see at Sunday mass?" He raised an eyebrow, and eventually looked down at the offending finger jabbing into his sweater. "There's a lot we can cover without ever talking about God, you know-" He winced as she shot her finger up from his chest, making him flinch with surprise as she flicked her long fingernail against his nose. She gave a laugh, grinning up at the tall man as he recovered. He didn't scowl or even frown. He just smiled more, giving a patient sigh through his nose.

She knew she was being silly, but considering she had just come within sniffing distance of wasting this guy, she felt pretty comfortable affording herself some silliness to unwind. Playfully, she quipped "Walked right into that one, moron." He leaned back a little, shifting his weight to one foot as he slipped his fingers into his pockets. He arched an eyebrow as his jaw shifted a little, his tongue almost visibly running across his front teeth. Almost under his breath, he chimed back "Yeah, well, excuse me for thinking you'd be more mature than that." Her brow furrowed as her puffy lips curved into a faux-frown. She darted her hand back up to flick him again, but he just chuckled and batted her hand away, taking a step back from her.

She didn't think she had ever seen a stronger smile on his face as he warmly said "It's nice to see this side of you. Like I tried saying, there's a lot we could talk about that doesn't involve religion. We don't need to argue philosophy, if you don't want to. Tonight, we can just start with you. There's stuff I'd like to ask you, before we get to anything else." She raised an eyebrow, her smile beginning to wither as she barely shook her head. Quite readily, she retorted "Tonight, he says. Stuff to start with, he says. Don't get ahead of yourself, buster. We're talking, tonight, because you won a bargain. If you want to see me any other night after this, you're gonna have to cheat, some more."

"I didn't che-!" He immediately blurted out, catching himself too late to stop her new grin. He closed his eyes, dropped his chin, and gave a heavy sigh. He raised a hand to his forehead, but started to smile, evidently entertained. Briefly gesturing his hand to the side, he raised his chin and looked her in the eyes. A little hopefully, he raised his eyebrows and asked "Well, if we're going to be talking, can I come inside, now?" Her grin instantly wilted. Her brow furrowed as she dramatically stuck out her jaw, giving him an exaggerated look of agitation. He started to smile even more, even more entertained. The smug look made her snap "You're not coming inside my lair, Luke. Get that into your thick skull."

He gave a chuckle, and could barely agree before she was turning the tables on him, all over again. Brow furrowing, pink lips stretching into a cocky smile, she held her hips, tilted her head to the side, and stared him right in the eyes. "I want to see your lair," she asserted. He raised an eyebrow in curiosity. She gave a resolute nod. "You heard me," she challenged. "I wanna see where you've been making camp. We'll talk in your home. You've been spending enough time sniffing around my door that I think I deserve to see where you lay your head. I wanna see what kind of conditions a paladin on the hunt lives under. Or, does that make you uncomfortable? Don't wanna bring a big, bad demon into your camp? How do you think I feel about bringing a paladin into my home, then?"

"I never said it made me uncomfortable," he gently refuted. Sticking his hands into his pockets, he took another step back and leaned back on the leg, shrugged with his eyebrows, and passively added "I just didn't expect it, that's all. You sure? My camp is...Probably pretty humble, compared to what you're used to." Her smile widened into a grin. Something was off about his response. What was he hiding? "Quite sure," she insisted, trying not to chuckle as she cocked out a leg, sticking out a hip as she put her weight to one foot. He looked up and off to the side, those succulent lips of his barely puckering up before he gave a big sigh through his nose. He slowly swept an arm out by his side, pointing off towards the west. Almost under his breath, he said "Well, it's this way. You lead the way."

Erika grinned. No more secrets, little paladin. Time to show your enemy where you sleep. Time to show her what kind of supplies you have at your disposal. Where have you been hiding, the last three days and nights? If Marceline had a fantasy about you, you must take trips into the city for supplies, at least. She took a few paces past him, never noticing the way he looked upwards, his lips shifting in a silent prayer. When she abruptly stopped, spun around on a heel, and stuck a finger up at him, he immediately stopped his praying, turning to face her. Her grin had vanished, and in it's place, the diminutive incubus were staring up into the tall paladin's eyes, giving him a warning glare. In a very flat, cold voice, she declared "I'm warning you now, if you try to push this God crap on me or do anything I don't like, things are gonna get ugly."

She dropped her hand, but never took her eyes away from his. Just as firmly, she added "I may not be able to force you into forgetting me, but I can still hurt you. Badly." He slipped his hands into his pockets, again. Lightly arching his eyebrows, he looked down into her eyes and calmly answered "But, you won't. It's not in your nature to hurt people who don't try to hurt you, first. You don't want to hurt people who have good intentions." Erika's brow sank deep at the insipid assertion. Raising her voice, she blurted out "The hell I don't! I'm a demon! I hurt women every day!" His eyes widened as he, with a surprising level of indignation, declared back "That doesn't have to define you, Erika! That isn't who you are as a person, that's what I'm trying to tell you! It's what you became, but it's not who you are!"

Her brow unknitted. She dropped her hand. Her eyes dropped from his, then went off to the side. He gave a sigh, then ruefully mumbled "...I'm sorry, I shouldn't have raised my voice. I didn't mean to. It just...Irks me, a little, when you act like you're a bad person. I know you aren't. Doing what you need to do to survive isn't a sin, Erika. You don't kill any of the women you feed upon. If you had wanted to legitimately hurt people, we never would've gotten to even this point. You would've killed me, days ago. If you were as bad as you seem to think you are, you wouldn't have held back, five minutes ago. You would've slashed me, just like you had planned to, and kept me alive long enough for the compulsion of our deal to wear off."

Erika's eyes went as wide as dinner plates as they darted back over into his eyes. How in the fuck did he know that? Her mouth silently hung open for a moment, but then she found the nerve to ask "...How could you tell?" He raised his eyebrows, a little, and gave her a patient smile. "You were holding your hand behind your back," he pointed out. "I know incubi and succubi can make talons out of their fingernails. And, then there was the way you started tearing up, after. You weren't acting like yourself. I could tell what you were debating doing." Erika's brow knitted in confusion. Her eyes began to sting as she asked "...Why did you keep walking up to me, then? If you knew what I had planned, why didn't you just turn around and leave?"

"Because I trusted you not to," he readily answered, smiling more. "Free will. We're all free to make our own choices and live with the consequences, good or bad. I knew you wouldn't want to, and I'm thankful you didn't. Still, I was willing to take the risk. And, I can't leave, Erika, not until this gets resolved. Our deal kept me from leaving, but I wouldn't want to, anyway. You're a good cause. You're not a bad person, you're a good person who just had something bad happen to them." Erika immediately turned around on a heel, putting her back to him. He spied the way her hands slowly clenched at her sides. "Don't act like you know me, it's really pretentious," she stubbornly snapped. "Let's just see this humble little camp of your's," she bitterly added, hips swinging as she began walking off.

Luke's smile slowly died away, disappointment filling his eyes as he gave an inwards sigh. What had just happened? For a second there, it had almost seemed like he was getting through to her. Then, she just shut him out, locking herself off from the "smug paladin" and his honeyed words. Still...The night was young. He had a few hours of her time. He'd make the most of it.

"...Where is it?" Erika inevitably demanded after a couple minutes, batting aside a low-hanging tree branch in the process. "Just over there," Luke patiently answered, pointing ahead. She glanced over her shoulder with open suspicion, her brow furrowed deep. She kept marching through the suffocatingly thick trees, and within another minute, she finally spied the telltale glow of a bonfire. She didn't even ask for confirmation, she simply went over in a bit of a huff until she could make everything out. She pouted out her lips, put her fists to her hips, and gently raised an eyebrow. She waited until Luke was walking up behind her, then remarked "You call this humble? Doesn't really look to me like you're roughin' it like a peasant, Luke."

Luke gave a quiet sigh as he came up by her side, slipping his hands into his pockets. Raising his eyebrows, he looked around and slowly sighed out a simple "Yeah..." She raised her eyebrows higher, tilted her head to the side, and gave him a sidelong look through the corners of her eyes. One corner of her mouth started rising in a big, smug smirk. He glanced over at her, did a double-take, and somewhat defensively remarked "Look, this is all pretty standard issue for paladins on the hunt. It...It could be more regal. Believe me, I'm just as surprised as you that they gave me so many supplies. I'm still new to the order, I would've been fine with a bedroll and a backpack." Erika narrowed her eyes. She looked back over, training her eyes across the supplies mister paladin, over here, had been blessed with.

Not only did he have a rather tall, wide tent of royal blue cloth set up on the other side of his bonfire, but a large standard had been placed just next to it, depicting the emblem of the paladin's holy order. The standard held aloft a lengthy piece of snowy white fabric for a sort of flag, with a black sword designed across the length of it, a golden sun proudly dominating the background. Erika raised her eyebrows at the two fancy wooden chairs placed on either side of the bonfire, giving two a place to rest and chat by the comforting warmth of the flame. A metal stand had been erected over the bonfire, suspending a cast iron pot whose contents audibly bubbled and sizzled, wafting the delectable scent of a hearty stew throughout the campsite.

Over towards the left, a simple wooden training dummy stood, so far unmarred by any imperfections. Not far from that, close to the side of the tent, a small shrine had been erected. Even from her distant position, Erika could see the cross, the prayer beads, the bible, the candles and incense sticks, all the little trappings and accoutrements a good little choirboy would need on his first big trip away from the church. Almost under her breath, Erika remarked "How did I not see all this garbage, as plain as day? Are you the head priest's son, or something? Look at it all." Luke chuckled, patiently answering "No, not the head priest's son. This is definitely a slight step above standard issue, but...It could be flashier. Like I said, I don't know why I was given all this."

Erika gave him another sidelong glance, humming an openly suspicious "Hmph" at him. Her tail making measured strokes through the air behind her, she slowly walked deeper into the campsite, approaching one of the two chairs at the bonfire. She took a few audible sniffs, leaning in towards the fire before asking "What's cooking?" Luke raised his eyebrows. He reached up and idly scratched at one of his eyebrows, nonchalantly answering "Uh, well...Stew." Erika grinned. Turning to the side, she looked him right in the eyes, bluntly remarking "I can see that, smartass." Narrowing her eyes, her grin took a nasty twist as it stretched from ear to ear. Lowering her voice, she demanded "What kind of stew?"

Luke didn't flinch. His expression didn't even twitch. He started walking towards the bonfire, holding out a hand to gesture at the pot, saying "Well, let's see, if you want some, I can-" He stopped walking and withdrew his hand when Erika abruptly opened up her wings wide, spreading one of them across his path. Still grinning, she crossed her arms beneath her breasts, lightly shaking her head as she knowingly remarked "Oh, no. You stay right there, soldier boy. No peeking. What kind of stew, Luke? Don't you know what you were cooking for dinner? Can't you tell me what's in the pot?" He watched her eyes, for a moment. His succulent lips started curving into one of those big, friendly smiles, of his.

"...Potatoes. Beef. Carrots. Peas. Broth, of course."

She arched an eyebrow, still grinning. She withdrew her wings, turned towards the bonfire, reached out, and fearlessly plucked the doubtlessly scalding lid off of the boiling pot. Her grin fell to a smug smile as the spied the white shapes of sliced potatoes bouncing around the brown broth, accompanied by the orange chips of diced carrots and brown cubes of meat. Dropping the lid back onto the pot, she threw a glance his way, playfully narrowing her eyes as she tossed out "Lucky guess." He chuckled and asserted that this was his camp, but she simply ignored him. Turning her back to the nearest chair, she held the armrests and slowly eased herself down into it, muttering "I'm not going to be, like, struck by lightning for sitting in a paladin's camp, am I?"

Luke gave an amused sigh, smiling from ear to ear as he remarked "No more than I'd go up in flames for walking into your cave, Erika. You're perfectly safe." "Good to know," the demoness idly answered, dropping her tush into the chair. She drew in a breath, held it, and slowly exhaled, rubbing her hands across the armrests. Good quality chair, all things considered. Nice cushions, high quality wood. His order sent these off with some rookie for his first hunt? Nah, no way. Something was off, there was something he wasn't telling her. Her tail crept up behind her, then rested down past her right side, hanging over the edge of the chair. With a smile, she crossed one leg over the other, nodded him on to the side, and remarked "Well, go on. Take a seat, mister paladin. What, you gonna stand up for a few hours, while we chat?"

"No, I...I'll take a seat," Luke good-naturedly agreed, smiling as he walked over. Erika watched him take the other chair and lift it up, carrying it over from the opposite end of the bonfire until he nearly had it right next to Erika's. As he set the chair down and seated himself, Erika cut to the chase as casually as she could, putting the onus of beginning their discussion straight onto him by stating "So, look. I'm shit at starting a conversation. You're the one with all the questions, I mean, this was your idea. You said you had things you wanted to find out, about me. So. Go ahead, ask." Luke raised his eyebrows. He leaned towards her a little, putting his elbow over his armrest as he propped himself up. Those cyan eyes of his intently watching her's, he casually asked "Well, good point. Okay, then...First thing on my mind is, how much do you remember of your past life?"

Erika blinked. Luke's eyes drifted away from her's, for a moment, as he added "I've heard that...Sometimes, demons forget themselves. You obviously remember enough to know what your name used to be, so you can't have completely lost yourself. I'm just curious what else you might remember from before your reincarnation. Is that too personal?" Erika opened her mouth and was about to brush him off when she looked over at the bonfire, sighing hard enough to slump her shoulders. The compulsion wouldn't force her to answer. None of the deal had dealt in giving answers or taking his statements to heart. All she had to do was sit here and listen. Luke watched her for a moment, then murmured over the crackling of the flame, reassuring "You can just tell me if that's too personal. We can move on to something else."

Erika's brow faintly furrowed. The spaded tip of her tail gave a little twitch upwards, barely a little hop. He watched the way her jaw lightly tightened as she stared into the flames, but eventually, her pink lips shifted. "...Not much," she admitted, somewhat monotonously. Her brow unknitted, and she lightly arched her eyebrows. "I remember enough to know what it was like, but I think a lot of the details went away. I remember my family. I remember where I lived. I remember what killed me - kind of hard to forget that. I remember going to a local school, but I can't..."

She kind of narrowed her eyes a little, giving half a shake with her head as she mumbled "...I can't make out what it was like. I don't even remember the name of the place. I don't remember my friends. Maybe I didn't have any. I don't know." She raised an eyebrow high, finally turning her head back over and making eye contact. Rather flatly, she simply stated "It doesn't matter, anyway. Eric Stryker is dead, and so is his family." Luke blinked, his eyes never leaving her's. Momentarily raising his eyebrows, he simply stated "And Erika lives on." "Right," she answered, with a hint of finality. Tilting her head to the side a little, she narrowed an eye, the corners of her lips subtly dropping as she added "Why do you even care, anyway? All that stuff was nearly a hundred years ago. Who cares what I do or don't remember? It's ancient history, either way."

Luke raised his eyebrows high, smiling a little as he, quite readily and somewhat enthusiastically, insisted "It's my job to care!" Her brow sank deep, while her jaw visibly clenched. Turning towards him in her seat, she called him out on what seemed like yet another pretty blatant lie about his role. "No it isn't, genius, it's your job to purify and exorcise demons. It's not your job to care or do research, you were supposed to try killing me the instant you saw me. Second time you've tried bullshitting me about what paladins do, as if I'm not going to know." He raised his eyebrows, passively looked down at the ground, tilted his head to the side at the good point she was making, and was about to try telling her for a second time that it should've been his job to care enough to redeem her when she pressed the issue further, escalating the disagreement.

Lightly shaking her head, shrugging her shoulder, she snapped "Even if it was your job to care, does that make it any better? Does caring really matter if it's something you have to do? I don't think so. It only matters if you have the choice not to, and still choose to." Erika watched as those cyan eyes of his came back to her's. He raised an eyebrow, lightly turned his head to the side, and gave her a very mildly cockeyed look. Slowly, patiently, he explained. "I had the choice not to care about what happened to you, Erika. I chose to. I could've been like any other paladin. I didn't want to. Another paladin could've easily taken my place. I stepped in to do this, myself. I want to help you as much as I want to help the people you hurt."

Erika raised her eyebrows and turned her head away, facing the fire. Still looking off at him through the corners of her eyes, she dismissively remarked "I don't hurt anybody. I only hurt the people who come after me. The women I feed off of, I make fair deals. I give them what probably ends up being the best sex of their lives, all in exchange for one sleepy morning. I don't kill anybody." He slowly nodded. "You're right," he conceded. "You don't kill anybody, except for the people who try to kill you. I can't argue that fact." She stared at the fire for a few moments, but then, he eventually pointed out, in a very light murmur, "...Although, you did try telling me, earlier tonight, that you do hurt women, so perhaps you aren't as comfortable with what you have to do to survive as you're letting on."

Erika's brow sank deep. She looked off to the side, turning her face even further away from him. She simply didn't answer. She didn't have to, and he didn't prod her. They both knew he had a point, that he had caught her in a contradiction, and she just didn't care to talk through it. Instead, he waited a few moments, giving the tenseness between them a chance to subside before he changed the subject. Raising his eyebrows, he murmured "So...Ever been to your hometown, ever since you became an incubus?" "What? No, of course not," Erika immediately rebuffed, looking over at him with an eyebrow raised. He opened his mouth to continue, but she rudely cut him off before he could even begin, muttering "That place isn't my home, anymore. Home is wherever my lair is. Besides, what would be the point? Just to see how things have gotten along without me?"

He lightly shrugged, innocently murmuring "I don't know. I just assumed you might've tried flying there, at some point...Just to take a look, see if you could reconnect with some part of your old life. I mean, it wouldn't take you long, I'm sure. I'm sorry if talking about this makes you uncomfortable. Your old life is the only real link I have to your humanity." His soft speaking voice had her confrontational attitude slowly melting away. She looked back over into the bonfire, slipping her hands off of the chair's armrests, folding them into her lap. "...No, I never have, and I'm not really interested," she more placidly insisted. "Besides, if I did, I'd want to have a walk around, not just see it from the sky. Not going to risk walking around in the middle of the street, looking like I do. Last thing I want is a mob coming after me there, of all places. It may not be my home, anymore...But it is still where I came from."

He slowly nodded. A few more moments of silence passed before Luke came out with a question not only personal enough to make her wince, but dreaded enough to make her shut her eyes and sigh. Without warning, he asked "...Were you ever faithful?" When he heard the way she sighed, he looked over, barely raising his eyebrows. Lightly holding out a hand, he backpedalled a little, murmuring "I'm sorry, it's just, well, it seems like an obvious enough question we might as well get out of the way." She turned her head and looked into his eyes, watching the way he watched her reaction. She blinked once or twice, then mumbled "...Would it surprise you to hear that, actually, I was?"

She watched the way sympathy came over him, that ugly look of pity filling his eyes. She looked away, staring back into the fire. After a couple moments, she heard him murmur "...No, it wouldn't, but it does make me all the more curious as to how things turned out this way." "Don't ask me, ask your God," Erika muttered, teeth lightly going on edge. They fell into yet another fairly uncomfortable silence, but Erika only allowed it to last for a few moments before she was finally asking a pointed question of her own.

Turning her head, she uncrossed her leg and crossed the other in exchange, gave him a look of subdued curiosity, then ventured to ask "Here's a question for you, Luke. What, exactly, are you hoping to get out of all this? When you say you care, are you talking about me, or just...Winning this thing? Am I just a job and this is how you plan on acting with every demon, or am I a special case?" She watched the way he raised his eyebrows, his eyes rising from the bonfire to the bubbling pot. In another murmur, he said "I'm not trying to "win" anything, Erika, but...It's a bit of both, I think."

"I do care about what happens to you, specifically, but I'm also hoping I can do this for every demon I have to hunt. I know what you think of my fellow paladins, and while I can see where you're coming from, Erika, they're just disappointed optimists. They want the best, but some of them have lost their way. Purification shouldn't have to be something that's forced...And, simple exorcism doesn't help anybody. Not in the long run, anyway." He let his mouth hang ajar as he drew in a deep, brief breath, sighing it back out as he sat up in his chair. "No, that's not the way. That shouldn't be what we do," he resolutely declared.

"It's wrong. More expedient...But expedience is no excuse, nor is it inherently a good thing. Forcibly purifying perverts the spirit of what we should be doing, and exorcism, well...Banishing you back to Hell is the ultimate sin. We, mortals, are simply declaring you unworthy for a second time, something that should only ever be God's responsibility. Everyone deserves a chance at redemption. Everyone." He looked over, peering deep into her golden, slitted eyes. His confidence caught her by surprise, making a tremble run down her spine. Those lips of his barely moved as he muttered "Paladins tell themselves that damned souls are damned for a good reason, and can't be redeemed. They tell themselves that God has made His judgement, and that it's their sacred duty to protect the rest of His flock from the influences of Hell. That attitude only casts aside God's greatest teachings: forgiveness, compassion, mercy."

The two of them silently watched each other's eyes for a few moments, but eventually, Erika cracked into a big smile, growing wider by the second until it was a big, fang-exposing grin. She chuckled and looked off into the fire. Luke just gave her a somewhat quizzical look, mumbling "...What? What's so funny?" She snickered and tilted her head to the side, making her bangs sway as she gave him a sidelong look. "Listen to you," she remarked, genuinely trying not to come across condescending. "What a romantic. Your idealism is giving me a cavity, over here. You really are a new paladin. You're straight out of Sunday school, man." He started to grin. Slowly, he remarked back "I'm sorry if my optimism bothers you. I can't help it, I've always been a "glass half full" sort of guy."

She uncrossed her legs. "Doesn't bother me," she nonchalantly refuted. "I just don't see it lasting. What you have, right now, is like a virginity - it's just a bubble waiting to get popped. It's sweet while it lasts, though." Raising an eyebrow, her eyes fell to their usual smouldering, half-closed shape. One corner of her mouth started to rise in half a grin as she leaned over a little, lowering her voice as she teased "Who knows...Maybe it'll even be me who takes it away." He just raised an eyebrow and remarked "I hope not. You'd have to crush me pretty hard to turn me into a cynic." She just grinned and chuckled. When it dawned on him that that hadn't been quite what she had meant, he simply mumbled "...Oh."

Of course, that quickly prompted him to turn the flirting into something serious, much to Erika's chagrin, by again pointing out "But, you said you aren't allowed to do anything with other men. Why is that, anyway?" "Because I'm an incubus," she promptly, and rather flatly, answered, lightly clearing her throat and looking away. She rolled her eyes as he, of course, pushed the issue, pointing out "That only means you can't feed off of men. You were telling me you can't do anything sexual with men, and not simply because you're an incubus." "Next question," Erika dismissively answered, raising her eyebrows.

"But-"

"Next question, Luke. That's too personal."

Luke immediately gave an accommodating nod, murmuring "Alright, I understand. Next question, then." Erika's brow abruptly furrowed. Before he could actually do as she had instructed and asked something different, she just went ahead and did it herself, blurting out something that had been on her mind ever since they had met up, for the night. She didn't look at him as she asked "Hey, listen. Back at the cave, when we were talking...When you said you wouldn't want to leave, even if you could, because I was a good cause...What did you mean, by that?"

Her eyes shifted into his direction, but she didn't actually turn her head to peer at him. Almost under her breath, she muttered "...You made me sound like I'm just a challenge to beat. That's why I just walked off, it made everything else you said sound disingenuous. I know you've said you care, but...How can you actually care about somebody you don't even know? You don't know me, Luke. I can't decide whether to get pissed off at you for being patronizing, or...Feel flattered that someone is willing to pretend." "I'm not pretending, Erika," Luke patiently insisted. He leaned over the armrest of his chair a little, raising his eyebrows as he quietly stated "And, you're not just a job, to me. Maybe I chose my words wrong. I know enough about you to be confused about how you became a succu...Sorry, incubus."

She gave him a sidelong look, eyes half-closed as she raised her eyebrows. He continued, the subtle confidence in his voice echoing in every word. "I know enough to know you're a good person, inside. You haven't completely lost your way, and as far as I'm concerned, that means you haven't completely turned your back on the right way, either. You just need someone to show you that way. I'm not trying to be patronizing when I say that you're only a lost soul, not a damned soul. You're not irredeemable, you just need to believe that, yourself." Erika placidly turned her eyes back to his cooking pot. She didn't believe him, but she was starting to believe that he believed it. Big idiot had more heart than brains. She supposed that counted for something. She raised her chin at his pot, changing the subject with a curt "...Better check your stew, soldier boy."

Things were kind of quiet, after that. Luke put together a bowl of stew for himself, and while he offered Erika some, she declined. While she could still eat normal foods like a mortal, she didn't need to, and simply chose not to. Now, if he had some wine he'd be willing to share...He chuckled, at that. He'd have to disappoint her, he said. They didn't do much talking while he ate, and once he had finished, he stood up from his chair, set his bowl aside, and pleasantly said "Well, Erika, I think I've taken up enough of your time for one night. It was nice chatting, it was good getting a couple questions answered. I'm sure you're looking forward to heading off and getting in your meal for the night, so we can leave it at that. Same time tomorrow night?"

Erika raised her eyebrows and opened her mouth to answer, but caught herself when she noticed the sly little question he had snuck in, at the end. Narrowing an eye, she smiled, not yet getting up from her chair as she said "Whoa, whoa, whoa. Tomorrow night? Nobody said anything about tomorrow night. Deal was one night, and if we're through, we're through." He raised his eyebrows at her, dropped his chin, and smiled. Slowly, he retorted "You know I can't just walk away, Erika. Are you honestly going to tell me that you hated tonight so much that you wouldn't want to chat, again?" With a big, shit-eating grin, she chirped "Well then, if you want more of my time, I guess you're gonna have to cheat me in another deal, huh?"

"I didn't...No, not gonna fall for it, this time," he said, quickly enough catching himself with a skyward glance. She gave a chuckle and reached a hand up, briefly passing a finger through her bangs. "I have more time," she coyly insisted. "I'm not gonna see you, again, if we don't make a deal. I have more important things than doing this, every night. Let's talk it out, mister paladin." He looked down at the seated incubus with a playful smile growing on his face. He dropped his chin, looking upwards at her as he said "Are you really serious, about this? You're not going to talk to me unless some magic is forcing you? I thought we had gotten past that." "You thought wrong," she quipped, a giant grin spreading across her face.

He watched her shift one of her hands off of her lap, while the other pinched the hem of her skirt. She raised it up just enough to expose the big, round shape filling out the front of her white panties, teasing him with a quick peek at her unmentionables. He looked away but otherwise didn't react, which nonetheless had her tittering and dropping her skirt back down. "Take a seat, big guy," she prodded. "Let's make a deal. And, this time, I'll make sure it's not something you can abuse by calling for help. Terms are gonna be airtight, this time."

Raising her eyebrows, the corners of her mouth momentarily dropping in a playful frown, she gave half a shrug and added "Unless you're scared you won't be able to beat me, this time. I understand. It's normal to get cold feet. I guess talking to me doesn't mean all that much to you, after all. I guess I should just be going..." She was halfway through standing up when he took a step towards her, holding out a hand to stop her. "H-Hey, hang on, that's not fair," he protested. Raising his eyebrows, he insisted "Talking with you does mean something, to me. I just...Does it really need to be this way? Can't we just talk? Does it always have to have some kind of sex game contest, every time?"

She tilted her head to the side, a big, smug smile stretching across her face as she narrowed her eyes and nodded to the affirmative. He gave a weary sigh, but judging by the way he slipped his hands into his pockets, he was clearly already resigned to her terms. Her pouty lips parted, turning her smile into a grin. She nodded her head to the side, gesturing him onwards to his chair. "Go on, take a seat, holy man. What, you scared of little ol' me? Big, tough paladin can handle one little incubus, can't he? I'm not so scary, am I?...Spend enough time with me, and you'll see..."

He raised his eyebrows and smiled a little. As he turned and stepped towards his chair, he stated, almost under his breath, a very casual "I'm not scared of you, Erika. I'm just worried about what you've got cooking." "You should be," she chuckled out, grinning like a harpy. Slowly sitting himself back down, he sighed, looked over at her until he could meet those golden, slitted eyes of her's, and confidently gave an ultimatum: "I'll agree, on one condition: that, even if I lose, you still agree to see me, tomorrow night. That's the only way I'll accept a deal. I don't want to risk any more deals where, if I lose, I need to leave you alone."

Erika's brow sank deep as she indignantly retorted "Why the hell would I agree to that? It defeats half the purpose of these deals! I'm trying to get you out of this, Luke - now more than ever!" Luke raised his eyebrows. His mouth hung open for a moment as he searched for the words, his eyes briefly drifting to the side as he said "I...Can handle making the sacrifice of the sexual aspect of the deals, Erika, but I can't...Won't...Just walk away from this, especially now. Now that I know you were once one of the faithful...I'm even more determined to help you."

"I'll play along with your contests and whatever the rewards are if you really insist on having them, but I don't want to be punished, that way, for losing. I don't want to risk any more deals where, if I lose, I have to just walk away and leave you to some other paladin...Or, to eternity." He looked back over to her eyes, his eyebrows arching. His voice almost went small as he quietly pleaded. "Please...Don't make that be the case. If you won't agree...You can't make me agree to the deal, either, and neither of us will get anywhere."

Erika's hands balled into fists, over her thighs. Her jaw visibly tightened until her teeth parted in a tiny snarl, her brow sinking in desperation as she hissed "Luke, I'm trying to save your fucking life! This can't keep happening, between us! If I can't compel you, then a deal will get you the hell out of here before things get nasty, and I'm not just talking about me! You don't get it, do you? This wasn't supposed to happen, from either of us. You were supposed to try and kill me, and I was supposed to kill you, first. Paladins and demons don't do this! I'm not agreeing to-"

"I'm not afraid of Balthazar, either," Luke suddenly interjected, lightly shaking his head. Erika's expression immediately opened up in surprise. Her hands relaxed over her legs. She stared into his eyes as he softly added "I know of him. I know he's your overseer. I'm not afraid of him, Erika." Erika didn't react for several long seconds, but eventually, she looked down at her knees, her brow furrowing, a touch. Eventually, she mumbled "...How do you know he's my overseer?" Turning her head just enough to stare at him through the corners of her eyes, her voice became a mutter as she added "He never leaves Hell. He doesn't need to, his role is in the netherworld. How do you even know that name?"

"They've written about him a few times, in the paladin's texts," Luke sighed. Raising his eyebrows, he looked into the fire, quietly mumbling "They say he watches over a good number of demons from the sexual caste, succubi and incubi alike. He's obviously cruel enough to be noteworthy. They say he carries a flaming battleaxe into battle, and gets a kick out of stripping demons of their powers, throwing them deeper into the pits. He takes lost souls and blackens them." Luke's brow sank as his eyes dropped. Erika watched the way his teeth went on edge in an uncharacteristic display of aggression. "...He's a monster," the paladin muttered, voice low and cold.

Erika had to agree, but she didn't dare speak the words aloud and make them real. She waited a few moments, silently contemplating the issue he had presented her with, before she finally sat up in her chair. It was enough to get his attention, perhaps because he was afraid she'd simply leave, but instead, she started to smile at him. She gave a curt sigh, making her billowing breasts heave against the cups of her corset. Arching an eyebrow, she confidently stated "Fine then, tough guy. You wanna be stubborn about this? I'll play your game, if you'll play mine. New deal, new rules. If you lose, you don't have to stay away from me, from now on. Whether or not you win or lose, I'll still see you tomorrow night for another little appointment. However..."

She stuck up her dainty finger at this, arching her eyebrows higher as her smile widened. Her eyes fell to sultry slits as she cooed "If I win, I reserve the right to make you do something naughty tomorrow night, and you have to go along with it. If you win..." Her smile became a grin as she dropped her finger, her head lightly tilting to the side. "...You stop resisting me and let me into that head of your's so I can see all the dirty little kinks you've got locked away." Luke immediately narrowed an eye, somewhat indignantly blurting out "How is that fair? You get something, no matter who wins!"

"So do you," Erika simply pointed out, her grin growing nastier. She had to resist the urge to cackle. She had him cornered, and he knew it. He wanted something, but before he could get it, he'd need to give her something, right back. Seeing him get worked up over it was the delicious cherry on top. Was this a double standard, creeping out? If he couldn't swallow the deal, he could say so and walk away, but if getting his way really meant so much to him, well, he'd have to put up with her getting her's, too. Fair's fair. She gave a gentle shaking with her head, openly cocky at his resistance. "No matter who wins or loses, you still see me, tomorrow night. That's not very fair to me. I have to get something, so...Again, new deal, new rules. I get something, too, no matter who wins or loses. Call it my insurance in case you..."

She couldn't even finish before he was rolling his eyes, making a chuckle bubble up in her throat. "What's the contest," he simply asked, a little wearily. Erika gave a hungry purr, then murmured "Something extra spicy, tonight. Look at me before I tell you, I wanna see the look on your face when you hear it. Are you ready?...Self-suck contest. Kind of. We get hard, whip out our cocks right here and now, and we see who can fit more of their own dong in their mouth. I'll go easy on you and say we don't actually have to bust in our own mouths...We're just gonna check and see if a little paladin like you can fit more dick in his mouth than an incubus, like me. Sound good? Of course it does. You love it."

Luke gave such a long, slow sigh, his shoulders slumped as he deflated into his chair, sinking into it like a condemned man minutes from the long walk. She chuckled, the tip of her tail giving a few swishes, by her arm. Teasingly, she cooed "If you don't like it, little boy, you can just say no. I'm not forcing you. Nobody makes you do these things but yourself." Luke slowly began to sit up, a little more, as he cleared his throat. Somewhat slowly, he asked "And...What, exactly, would the loser need to do?" Erika narrowed her eyes. Hmm. What did he have up his sleeve? Was he already figuring out a way to subvert the rules? Well. She'd put a stop to that, right fucking quick. The rules were going to be incontrovertible, this time around. No little God with no little intervention was going to save this punk, this time around. This time, it would all be on the level. Legit.

She briefly nibbled on her bottom lip, then said "Oh, no. Not this time, Luke. This time...Loser doesn't need to do anything messy. Not like the other two deals, at least. No, no...This time, it's the winner who does something nasty. This time, the winner gets their ass fingered until they pop their top, and the loser has to do all the fiddling." He raised his eyebrows and looked over at her. She grinned. Was that reluctance she saw in his eyes? Oh hoh, this was too good. Somewhat disbelievingly, he repeated "The winner has the...Deed done to them? Not the other way around?" She gave a nod, breathing out "You heard me. If you don't want it, you just have to lose...Or, better yet, refuse the deal. Spooked? You've won the last two games, so I guess you should be. If you wanna play, though, those are the terms."

He raised his eyebrows, drew in a breath, and shrugged as he exhaled. "Not spooked," he passively protested. "Just...After the last two, this feels a bit different. Assuming you win, or even if you lose...You're alright with that kind of end result? This doesn't violate your strict "no men" policy?" She narrowed an eye and smiled from ear to ear, purring "Hardly. This is just humiliation, just like last time. How do you think you'd look, on your hands and knees while a "succubus" plays "milk the bull" behind you? I can already see your face, at the end...I can see it impaled on your own stick, too."

She gave a dramatic shiver, giving a gust of an exhale as she shrugged with her eyebrows, her smile growing into a grin. He blinked a couple times in exasperation, sighing as he tossed her a sidelong glance. She winked and added "I'm sure you'd find a way to live with yourself, afterwards. You've won the last two games, so I don't favour my chances very much, mister paladin...And, you know what? With these terms, I'm fine with that. Go ahead and win, again. When you do, I'll just poke you like a bitch until you're tearing up. Sound good?" Instead of answering, he tossed her a bit of an unimpressed look. He held out his arm, offering her his hand. "Just go over the terms," he patiently prodded, a good-natured smile creeping up onto his face.

The tip of her tail gave a blase little swish. Gotcha. Big idiot didn't seem to realize that, with more cock than her, he had more cock for the compulsion to fit. He was gonna fuckin' lose. She wasn't trying to trick him. It was just simple fact: the same thing that had won him the first bet would make him lose the third. Wasn't her fault if he didn't clue in to that. And, really, it didn't matter who won or lost. It shouldn't matter, at least. He was getting what he wanted, and whether or not she won, she'd be getting something she wanted, too. Fair's fair. She grinned and held out her hand, nonchalantly going over the final terms.

"So. Self-suck contest. Winner fits more of their dick in their own mouth. Loser has to finger the winner's ass until they dribble their cummies like a little butt-slut. Whoever wins, I still see you, tomorrow night, for another chat. If I win, I get to ask for any kind of sexual favour I want from you, and believe me, I already have a few ideas. If I lose, I still get to take a peek inside your mind and feel out your libido, and you can't resist me. And you..." She raised her eyebrows high, widening her eyes. "...Can't call for any kind of backup. No bullshit. No praying. You're on your own. This contest is purely me versus you. Got it?"

"Got it," he readily agreed, smiling more. She narrowed her eyes and stared at him. For a couple moments, she tried internally reviewing the terms, tried to find any loopholes he might've been thinking of exploiting, but in the end, she didn't change anything, and simply took him by the hand. The diminutive incubus and the tall paladin both gave a single pump at each other's hand, and the unholy glow of the magic that erupted from between their clasped fingers was bright enough to outshine the bonfire. In an instant, the compulsion to do the deed was seeded in their minds, and their blood flowed southward, slowly coaxing them onwards. Time for the two of them to do a little taste-testing of a most personal variety.

Erika promptly hiked up her skirt, flipping it up over her abdomen. She slid down in her seat, giving herself some space to spread her legs, opening her knees up wide. Already breathing a little huskily, she listened to Luke's zipper drop, the compulsion spreading through his muscles like a warm, numb fog as it forced him through the motions of unbuckling his belt. Erika looked down and watched herself, her hands moving on autopilot as she pulled her panties to the side, slipping the front off of her growing bulge until her bits could fall free, flopping out with a happy bounce. She bit her lip and tried not to smirk, wrapping one hand around her meaty pole for a few slow tugs, coaxing it along to full rigidness.

Over to her right, she heard Luke halfheartedly mumble "...I can't believe I actually agreed to this..." Erika snickered and glanced off to the side, but didn't bother turning her head. "You didn't have to, whiner," she didn't hesitate to point out. Raising an eyebrow, she grinned and added "Get ready to gag, soldier boy. If it's good enough for me, it's good enough for you. I'd tell you to pray that you lose, but that's just it - you can't! God can't help you now, holy man! It's just you and me, all night long!"

She looked over, and the grimace he had on his face as he stared down the sight of his own eleven inch prick had butterflies filling her belly. God, she had him, didn't she? Yes! He was really gonna do it - of course he was, he had to! Didn't fucking matter that she had to do it, too. Point was, he had to do it, and this was gonna embarrass him a hell of a lot more than it'd embarrass her. She had to hold back a cackle. She finally fucking had him! Her hand only slowly drifting back and forth across her meat, she tried not to sound breathless as she said "I'm gonna watch you do it, first. I wanna fuckin' see it. Go on. The quicker you start, the quicker you'll finish..."

Luke's lips twisted and shifted about as he tried to resist the compulsion, but still, he began to lean over, doubling over in his seat, easing his head closer to the tip of his own throbbing prick. The closer he came, the higher Erika's eyebrows rose. When his mouth started to ease open, her's did, too. She gave an open-mouth grin wide enough to show off her fangs, her half-closed eyes following his dipping head. Oh, God...This was gonna be a sight to see. How deep was he gonna go? At least five inches, yes? About half, right? At least five. She wouldn't be surprised if he managed to fit more, the little...Mmf. Luke closed his eyes and tried harder to resist once he came within inches, but that just made the compulsion ramp up until he was twitching. No welching, now. A deal's a deal.

He held his prick around the base with both fists, those lips of his puckering into a tiny "o" as he came within three inches, then two, of his swollen, purple-tinged tip. When he finally dropped all the way and pressed those succulent lips of his down around the crown of his manhood, Erika nearly squealed in delight. She grinned and gave a hungry chuckle, watching the way his face started turning red in the firelight. She practically licked her lips when he looked off through the corners of his eyes, trying to make eye contact with the naughty spectator.

She arched an eyebrow, unabashedly teasing him with some cruel remarks, muttering "Yeah...Go down on yourself, soldier boy. Put those fucking lips to good use. I'm tired of getting teased with them, it's about damn time I saw you do something with them. You like this, don't you?...You probably blow yourself all the time. Lord knows you're big enough, for it. Ooh, I can see you now, too horny to sleep one night, quietly sucking yourself off in the church dormitory, thinking about all your fellow paladins, none the wiser as they slept on around you...Poor you, the vow of chastity was just too much to bear, but...Right there, in the church?! For shame!"

Luke's brow faintly furrowed, but she didn't think it was the heat of the bonfire that made his face even more red. Slowly, he sank deeper, his lips sliding past the tip of his prick. Erika watched all the while, her breathing already deepening. Once he closed his eyes, the warm tingles in her stomach spread. Softly, she cooed "You like the taste, don't you?...Just a little suckle on your own dick, no big deal...Nobody has to know...I won't tell if you won't. I don't think your fellow paladins would approve, seeing you like this...Deeper, now...Go on, you can take more...Suck it. Pop your own mouth cherry!"

Luke didn't respond. It would've been difficult to manage, anyway, what with his own girthy manhood stretching his lips, but still, he sank even deeper, filling his mouth with more of his own man-meat. Finally, the compulsion ceased affording Erika leniency for her own perverse viewing pleasure and kicked in, driving her on to mimic Luke's lewd gratification efforts. Finally tearing her eyes off of him, she looked downwards, swallowing a bit of saliva. Well, there it was. Ten inches, her own ten inches, veiny and throbbing, spearing up into the air from her lap...Just waiting for her own wet, warm mouth.

She sat up without meaning to, and uncontrollably began to double over. Like him, she held herself tight around the base of her shaft, one hand circling her prick in a tight fist. Her eyes began to cross as her cock came closer, the compulsion cranking open her mouth, forcing her to salivate until a droplet fell from her bottom lip, dotting the flared tip beneath her chin. Her nostrils flared as she picked up her own musk, the fragrance of her own manhood teasing her senses more and more as she folded over. Unlike the previous two games, this one had her feeling confident, arrogant, even. There was no reason to resist. She could handle this. He was the one who needed to go red-faced like a virgin, not her. She dunked her head, even as a big globule of pre-cum began to rise from her slit.

She never closed her eyes, leaving them half-closed, her thick eyelashes fluttering in quick little blinks as she wrapped her lips around half of her tip. The instant her pink lips made contact with her skin, the alien sensation made her audibly shudder. Not just because kissing her own cock was foreign to her - it legitimately was, she'd swear it, why suck herself off when she could just fuck some repressed little thing on the sly - but more because the second her lipstick-covered lips touched her skin, a wild tingling set her nerves alight, vibrating across her tip, creeping down her shaft. Erika immediately whimpered and shut her eyes. Her lipstick was only supposed to affect women! Why was it getting a rise out of her? Had Luke felt this, too?

When pre-cum freely began to flow from her cum-vein, Erika's brow furrowed, her face slowly turning redder and redder. She was quickly reduced to breathing in huffs as she ran her tongue against the tip of her prick, teasing her own cock with the texture of her own tongue, lapping up and tasting the sappy nectar that the tingles of her lipstick had oozing so readily. Hearing Luke give a quiet moan, muffled by a certain obstruction, had Erika's eyelids flickering. How deep had he gotten, already? She opened her eyes and turned her head as best she could without pulling her drooling mouth off of herself. What she saw had her dazed eyes widening. Luke had already doubled over far enough to easily have five inches inside his mouth, and he was pushing over further for even more. Even with this kind of contest, he was determined to beat her?

Still...Seeing him like that, those lips of his stretched around a fat cock, his face still red as perspiration beaded on his forehead, body shifting as he panted away...Erika's wide eyes steadily closed until a spurt of pre-cum against her tongue had her eyes rolling back. Right then and there, she knew only one thing for certain, one irrevocable truth in her gut that no amount of denial could suppress.

If she never once got to see him sucking her cock, her unholy existence would go forever unfulfilled.

The dark thought had the need in her crotch bubbling, sizzling, rewarding her urge to corrupt with enhanced sensitivity in her despoiler. She was a demon, and she would not be his boy-toy. He would be her plaything. She turned her head back, facing her own lap. She grabbed her knee with her free hand and began doubling over further, sinking her lips further across her shaft, feeling her own pulsating heat fill her mouth, creeping deeper and deeper. The deeper she went, the stronger her own musk became, the cooler her strained breaths felt as they washed out against her balls.

In spite of herself, she gave a tiny moan, cooing as she sealed her lips tight around her girth. When she heard Luke do the same, her cock gave a jump, pushing against the back of her tongue. Hardly a moment later, she heard faint wet sounds coming from over in Luke's direction, the big man evidently at maximum capacity but still trying to fit more. The corners of Erika's mouth rose in a cock-stretched smile. Was that little pervert trying to deepthroat himself? Delicious. She doubted he was going to get very far, but determination was nine-tenths of any battle. Two could play at that game. Even if winning meant he'd only be humiliated further, it was the principle of the thing that mattered. She wasn't going to just give in and let him win, not now, not in anything!

She pushed her head in further, letting go of the base of her prick, grabbing her other knee for support. Her heart pounding in her chest, she sank her head in until the hot mushroom of her tip came poking the back of her mouth, coming dangerously close to prodding her gullet. She instantly tensed up and tried to withdraw, but the compulsion wouldn't allow it. She wouldn't be able to withdraw until she had gone as deep as she could truly manage. Until then, the only option was down. She uncontrollably opened her mouth a little wider as she gagged herself on her long, meaty prick, breaking the seal of her lips as her big balls lightly pulled up in her oversized beanbag, churning with the need to pour her seed. If she wasn't careful about this, she'd end up injecting her infernal spunk into her own belly...

Her head inched downwards, making her gag a second time. Her brow sank deep before she opened her watering eyes, glaring at her own oversized balls. The compulsion was pushing her down even further. A moment of panic struck her. Why was it making her go down even deeper?! She couldn't handle anything else! She had already filled up her mouth, and there was still at least another five inches to go! She had only been joking about throating herself! She fought the compulsion as best she could, her head beginning to shake as she tried to pull back. The compulsion simply wouldn't allow it. Her head dropped another half inch. Her eyes watered until her mascara began streaking from the corners of her eyes, running in black rivulets. Her throat began to forcibly relax, opening up her gullet. Erika's stomach sank. Oh, God. Of course. She could fit more.

She took her hands off of her knees and grabbed the armrests of her chair. She tried to cry out in protest, but all it did was make it easier for her to deflower her own throat. The vocalization became a choked "Gulk!" as the tip of her own cock passed over the back of her tongue, pushing into the first inch of her throat. Blood immediately rushed to her head. Her tits pressed into her stomach and lap all the more uncomfortably as she folded over like a cheap chair. Her wings opened in panic, spreading out, giving a couple weak bats before settling. Her tail shot upright like a frightened feline's, the spaded tip barely shifting. Erika dimly observed the surreal sight of her own fat balls easing closer towards her face, upside-down and eager to unload the inhuman load sloshing within.

With her windpipe getting clogged up with man-meat, she turned her head as best she could, looking at Luke through the corners of her eyes. He hadn't gone any deeper, and it very obviously was not for want of trying. His face was red like a tomato, with sweat making his skin glisten. The compulsion was clearly trying to push him down further, too, but he simply wasn't flexible enough, making the attempt more than a little strenuous on his body. Besides that, he, unlike her, obviously was not in any position to deepthroat, especially not on a rigid cock as wide as his. The damn thing already had his mouth open to capacity. His throat was not an option. To put it bluntly, he was, thanks to factors outside his control, fucked.

Erika's eyes began to light up. He was done! He wasn't going any deeper - he couldn't! She had already taken in probably around two inches more than him! She was going to win! Finally, she was going to win one of these damn contests! She would've pointed at him and laughed, if she didn't have a salty bitch-breaker cranking open her jaw. When she sank yet another inch on her own prick, something dawned on her, something more vital than her own need for oxygen: she was going to win. Hang on, a second. She was going to win. That wasn't necessarily a good thing. That meant...That meant he'd...Oh, no. Her tail twitched with anxiety. Maybe this deal hadn't been quite so airtight, after all.

The pressure in her head escalated, her dreamy eyes falling to slits. Her senses became more and more dim as she went longer and longer without breathing. More and more of her own hot, pulsating dick filled her throat until, at last, she felt her nose press into her balls, her own soft, supple lips sealed tight right down around the base of her rod, her tits squished unbearably tightly beneath herself. Her chin pressed into her thick, soft triangle of crimson pubic hair, warm and silky against her skin. Erika feebly cursed her own flexibility as she huffed her musk straight from the source. This was not a position she had ever really expected to find herself in.

Oh, someone had gotten duped in this deal, but this time, it had been completely unintentionally. The only way Luke would have won this deal was if he had been able to swallow that one extra inch he had over her, and that just wasn't going to happen. The winner was quite clear: Erika, with her face impaled all the way down her foot-long dipstick, body folded over like a randy contortionist, smudged lips leaving a ring of pink around the base of her lust. All at once, the compulsion ended for them both. Luke threw his head back up with a great big gasp, heaving for air as he recovered from his own forced deepthroating attempts.

Erika withdrew more slowly, constantly gagging as she slipped herself back out of her own gullet before she, too, was throwing herself upright, sinking back into the chair. She opened her teary eyes wide, stunned by what she had just done to herself, what she had just been forced to endure, as she sucked in air, her breasts beginning to spill out of the half-cups of her corset from how hard she was breathing. Her lungs burned, her head throbbed a little, but more than anything, her cock felt cold in the night chill, exposed to the elements now that it had been freed from her warm, snug gullet. Almost as if she didn't believe it herself, she dimly exclaimed "Holy fuck!...I just...I just swallowed my whole dick!"

Luke looked over in surprise, blurting out "What?!" Erika quickly stumbled up to her feet, trying not to trip over her bone heels as she reached behind herself. In a bit of a panic, she panted out "Fuckin'...Get this thing off me!" She fumbled with the fastening of her corset, but within a few moments, she had undone the thing, loosening it up. Once she had it completely undone, she pulled it off and threw it aside, freeing herself up to breathe as deeply as she wanted. With a relieved sigh, she closed her eyes and collapsed back into her chair, groaning "Oh, so much better..." "Did you really...The whole thing?!" Luke breathlessly demanded, staring at her incredulously.

Erika arched her eyebrows and looked downwards across her body. Her unrepentant hard-on, stiff as steel and jutting up into the air like a red baton, was slathered from root to tip in saliva, giving it a shine that reflected the bonfire. She tiredly closed her eyes as she finished catching her breath, mumbling "Un-friggin'-fortunately..." Already, the compulsion was stirring again, ready to move her body into the position required of her for the second phase of their deal...The reward. Her reward for choking on her own long claymore: getting her ass played with until her overactive prostate waves the little white flag and overflows. Lucky her.

Slowly, she started to turn over in her chair, getting on all fours. She made sure to space her knees apart, letting her oversized balls hang heavy between her thighs, a sight sure to tantalize. He wasn't fiddling any succubus, over here. There would be no telling himself that he was playing with a girl, not with those things drooping in a stuffed beanbag. She started to grin at the thought. Even if this hadn't exactly been the outcome she had wanted, the fact remained that she had won. Finally, she had beaten the uppity paladin, and she didn't hesitate a moment longer to rub his nose in it. She turned her head and watched him as the compulsion forced him to his feet, his massive erection waving and bobbing about, half of it shimmering with his own saliva.

"Finally beat you, you smug little...Thought you'd beat me again, did you? Nope, not this time, pal," she remarked, furrowing her brow at him. Giving a little chuckle as he came up behind her, she looked ahead at the backrest of the chair, confidently muttering "I won, and it's about damn time." His voice, a little uncomfortably close to her rear, sounded a little strained as he said "Yes...You did...I hope this doesn't embarrass you, too much..." Erika couldn't grin anymore, but she could still find it inside herself to pop a cocky smile. The compulsion beginning to urge her into silence, she, too, had to force the words as she muttered "This'll work...Just as well...If this embarrasses you...Well...You need to get knocked down a couple pegs, anyway..."

She tried to look at him from over her shoulder, smirking as she ordered "Handle me again, big guy." Luke could only groan. When his hands abruptly came down over her wide, cushiony ass and squeezed into her billowing cheeks, she looked forwards once more, staring at the chair. Time for her reward...Such as it was. Yippee. At least she finally broke his win streak, right? Right! She didn't resist, and so, the compulsion did not need to override her motor functions or offer her mind ecstasy by way of encouragement, but when the seconds ticked by and Luke wasn't doing much besides gripping her by the ass, she started to grin. Sweetheart was obviously trying to resist, yet again.

If the compulsion weren't keeping her silent by that point, she would've teased him, goaded him on with a wag of her hips. What was the matter, he couldn't milk a little "succubus" of all her thick, salty evil? He couldn't get her to pour her poison via her ass? Was that too much, for him? Oh, had they reached his limit? He had found it inside himself to finger her, the other night - he had even licked her! What, he could stick his tongue in her, but he couldn't rub her bitch-switch until she dribbled all over his chair? Was that too much for him, now? Erika's grin grew and grew until, all of a sudden, he eased her cheeks wide open rather than pushed a finger between, like she had expected.

A warm gust of air blew into her valley, a steamy sigh that betrayed how close his mouth was. Her grin relaxed as her eyes widened. He wasn't supposed to...He was...Oh, God. Again with this? Her brow lightly furrowed when something hot and moist abruptly pressed right into her crinkle, lapping up across it in a slow, explorative sweep. Her tail instantly went upright, sticking out high. She shut her eyes and pressed her lips tight together, a quiver running across her body. She held her breath for a moment, then gave a long, slow shudder. Christ...Did the bastard have a thing for rimming, or something? Slowly, her tail curled in the air, arching over towards him.

The spaded tip touched the side of his neck, then ran along his skin until her tail was gently looping around his throat, cinching around him like a collar, sealing his mouth to her ass. He answered by running his tongue across her again, and in spite of herself, a quake of adrenaline made her smile uncertainly. Her stomach fluttered, again, as he scooped his tongue downwards, pressing hard against her tense rosebud. Every time he licked, she clenched, but slowly, the warmth and moistness had her closing her eyes and relaxing. Yes...Her paladin plaything, pleasing his petite mistress...She smiled. Getting milked by the bigger man might not be so bad...She was the one in control, wasn't she? After all, she had won. This was her reward.

This didn't have to be humiliating if she didn't want it to be, right? He was the one busy trying to stick his tongue up an incubus' bottom, after all. Yeah! She was getting the better end of the deal, here! She grinned, but the way her lips quavered and her face sizzled red betrayed a certain lack of confidence that was, thankfully, hidden from Luke, face buried in her seat cushions like it was. One of her eyes narrowed as he pressed the tip of his tongue against her, every hot breath washing against her made all the hotter by his saliva. When he pressed his lips against her ring and kissed, poking her with the tip of his tongue in the process, she shut her eyes and winced, offering a soft whimper. God, she was just as sensitive as last time!

She tried not to curl her lip up when he traced the tip of his tongue around her ring, exploring her every nook and cranny, getting her as slick with his saliva as possible. He squeezed her cheeks extra hard, sinking his fingers almost painfully firmly into her ass, feeling the way her supple, jiggly buns sank under his digits. He brought the tip of his hot mouth muscle to bear against her rosebud one more time, waited for her to stop clenching, and started pushing. Erika's face opened up with surprise, her body lightly bouncing an inch forwards before she relaxed. Her tail slowly tightened around his neck, gently squeezing as either encouragement or an admonishment. Whichever it was, only Erika knew for certain, and even then, she might've been a bit...Confused.

Her eyelids flickered as he stuck his tongue in deeper, deeper, those lips of his sealed around her hole all the while, his chin lightly pressing into her taint as he probed her. Finally, his tip passed through her sphincter, entering her void. She almost gave a sob at the feeling, her brow sinking deep. They shouldn't be doing this, but it felt so...She shouldn't like this, but it just...She was the one in control, and yet she still...She started to hang her head down. Her toes clenched, her tummy gently expanding and contracting with every deep, steady breath she took. Luke pushed his tongue downwards inside her, curling it with a surprising amount of finesse. Erika opened her eyes a crack, staring down at the seat of the chair. He wasn't going to...No, he wasn't going to make it. Was he going to try to...? Motherfucker, that just wasn't fair!

She uncontrollably flexed her backdoor, feeling the way his tongue gently compacted inside her ring, burning the inside of her sphincter. He gently inched his tongue deeper, deeper, still slanting it downwards, searching...Erika's teeth lightly went on edge, almost chattering with adrenaline. She wanted to groan at him to stop, but she just couldn't find her voice. She hung her head down further, trying to look past her sweat-slick cleavage. She could barely make out her cock, stiff as a board and engorged red enough to match her face, a steady flow of sap oozing and dripping from her tip to the seat cushion. Dew welled up in her eyes as Luke came within centimeters of his target.

She closed her eyes, pressing her lips tight together before breaking down and giving another little sob. Just the thought had her feeling like she'd black out. If he fucking dragged his tongue across her bulging prostate and milked her muscly knot with it, she was going to have a goddamned crygasm. If he did that...If she did that...Erika opened her eyes and raised her head, staring misty-eyed at the backrest of the chair. She didn't know if she could hold out. If the big paladin milked her ass with his tongue, fuck, she...She wouldn't be his mistress anymore, he'd crack her into his plaything. The roles would get reversed faster than you could say "Hallelujah." Play fair, mister paladin! You're being cruel! You were supposed to use your fingers, not your mouth! Give the little incubus an actual chance to enjoy herself, before she pops!

All at once, his oral invasion came to a stop. Erika gave a long, shaky exhale, thin trickles of ecstasy running from the corners of her eyes. Oh, thank God. Luke wasn't long enough to tongue her bitch-switch, just like she had thought. Thank fuck for that, if she had actually felt his tongue across her P-spot, not only would she have ruined his chair, but she probably would've accidentally strangled him with her tail. He slipped his tongue out of her, leaving her feeling hot, wet...Empty. She caught her breath as he gently kneaded her buns around, feeling the way her pliable halves worked with his hands, playfully hiding her dark star whenever he pushed them together. For a moment, there was silence, and then, out of nowhere, she heard Luke quietly ask "...You like that?..."

For a second, she didn't comprehend what she had heard, but then, not only was the burn in her face reigniting, but she even found herself grinning. Oh hoh, what was this, now? Dirty talk from the holy warrior? Wonders never cease. Was she starting to pervert that honourable soul of his, unlock the libido he'd repressed under holy lock and key? Instead of asking him the obvious question of "You like the taste?" she instead grinned from ear to ear and serenely mumbled "You're cheating again, big guy...Deal was fingers, not tongue..." "Well...You're about to get what you want," he passively answered. "Isn't what I want," she mumbled back, half a protest and half an insult. Even she could tell that there hadn't been much confidence in her tone, but Luke didn't stick it to her...Metaphorically, at least.

One hand left a cheek, and as replacement for his tongue, not one, but two fingers came up against her spit-lubed rosebud. Erika shut her eyes and lightly grit her teeth. Yes...Do it with two. Don't hold back. She can take it. When he pushed in, firmly but not savagely, she couldn't help but grunt. He turned his fingers to the side so that they'd better fit her vertical crinkle, pushing them in through her sphincter, forcing it to yawn open around his digits, dilating for the small penetration. A droplet of sweat ran down the side of Erika's face as her mouth began to hang open. She flexed her ass, squeezing, milking his digits like a surrogate cock, trying so hard to push her magic spot against him...

He obliged her, in but a few moments. In a couple seconds, he slid his lockpicks in deep enough to hit her tumblers, instantly making her jaw drop as her eyes began rolling back. He turned his fingers back around until they were horizontal again, stretching wide her sphincter, ensuring he could properly press his fingerprints down against the little bulge pushing so doggedly through her inner wall. Erika's entire body gave a shudder, silently shaking, quaking under the paladin's ministrations. Her wings shakily opened, uncontrollably widening out by her sides. Luke pressed down against her prostate, firmly rubbing his fingerprints around in a circle, deftly running laps around her lump before slowly pacing back and forth, flipping her switch on and off.

Erika shut her mouth tight and screwed her eyes closed, panting through her nose. Finally! He was touching her there! The more he touched it, the more sensitive it seemed to become, the more tense it became, filling up, ready to spill, ready to pour. The pressure was uncomfortable, but oh so sweet. Her milking clenches quickly became erratic as she gave a squeak of a grunt. Her crotch was tingling, the core between her neglected, weeping cock and her tight, hungry ass fluttering with need, the anxious build-up growing to critical mass with no signs of letting up. She let her mouth hang open as she gave a shuddering moan, dimly aware of the tears running down her face. It felt so good...To get played with back there, to feel that forced shortcut to orgasm, the need rising without her cock ever getting touched...And this was only his fingers. The thought of the obvious escalation had her whimpering.

She had needed this more than she'd ever admit, and Luke was more than capable of making this naughty incubus pop her top. When it happened, there was no mistaking it, for either of them. Erika felt that slow burn, that delicate tenseness, reach the point of no return, filling her mind with more rapture than any of her victims could ever provide her. She tried to swallow it, but she ended up raising her head up high, arching her back until she was sticking her ass up towards him, pressing his hand harder against herself. She whimpered and cooed, her voice going smaller and smaller, higher and higher until she was making girly gasps. Finally, all the tenseness subsided, washing through her, forcing her to slowly relax with a lilting moan.

Luke watched her rosebud go into a fit of flexing, her insides crushing him against her prostate as it noticeably swelled, trying to show her delight in the substitute cock by mashing him against her love button. His eyes dropped to her cock, still as rigid as a flagpole as it stuck out from her lap, lifting up the front of her skirt. It didn't even jump, numbly enduring the orgasm he had forced her into through her backdoor. It started as a slow trickle, a constant stream of thick, white seed, running from her tip and spilling past her skirt until it landed over the seat cushion. He started rocking his fingers back and forth, prompting Erika to give a sensitive hiss and flex her cock, forcing a streamer to blow from her tool so hard that it nearly batted away her skirt, landing with an audible splat against the seat of the chair. He kept going until she whimpered, her voice high and pleading as she whispered "Slowly...L-Let it flow!...Please, Luke!..."

He wordlessly complied with the incubus' needy request. Instead of pumping his fingers back and forth through her void, he gently curled his fingerprints into her button, delicately milking her, encouraging the slow flow from her tense cock. Erika's breathing slowed over the span of a dozen or so seconds, and by the time the high wore off, the drizzle of thick, sticky incubus milkings had came to an end, leaving a more than sizeable stain across the chair. All at once, the compulsion wore off. Deal completed. Third time's the charm. Luke immediately slipped his fingers out of her depths, while she, for her part, only slowly uncoiled her tail from around his neck. He stood up while she came to her senses in the afterglow of the long, drawn-out anal orgasm.

Neither of them said anything, straight away. Perhaps that was to be expected, after what they had just done. When Erika pushed herself up off of the chair and got up to her feet, she wobbled for a moment, then caught herself with the aid of her tail. When she turned around to face him, she found the tall man holding out her corset, silently offering her back her discarded clothing. She took it back without thanking him, without even making eye contact. She must've been wearing her disquiet on her sleeve, because as she took the corset from his hand, he quietly asked "...You okay? What we just did was a bit more...Serious than the last two times."

Erika swallowed some excess saliva. Her brow furrowed, a touch, as she looked off to the side. He waited a moment, then softly asked "Erika, say something...Should I have won? I couldn't help it, I didn't do anything to manipulate this one..." "I know," she murmured, raising a hand, nervously sweeping her fingers through her fiery bangs. "If it makes you feel any better," he offered, "you'll be able to order me to do anything you want, tomorrow. That can...Make up for you doing anything you didn't want to." It didn't exactly make her feel any better about the situation, but the thoughtfulness was appreciated. It wasn't what she did or didn't want to do that was the issue. It was what she could or couldn't do. Still, she made the gesture of mumbling a noncommital "Yeah..."

They went quiet again, something she hated with a passion. Her stomach twisted, knotting with discomfort. This was getting painfully awkward, and the real kicker was, she didn't even really know why. He had fingered her just the other night, and she hadn't cared. Why was this different than before? What, because he had seen her cum from the ass-play? Because they had escalated to backdoor shenanigans, on the whole? She just couldn't catch a break. When she wants to win, she loses. When she plans on losing, she wins. Had she crossed her own line, without even realizing it? Possibly, but she had been pushing his boundaries from the very start, and there were half a dozen more important things on her mind, none of which made this any easier.

Most glaring one was that they were both still as hard as steel, facing each other with their enormous hard-ons stabbing into the air towards each other, as if they were a rapt audience waiting for the second act to a forbidden play. Her's was especially flushed, tip still weeping leftover droplets of spunk, aching for a quick milking she didn't have the nerve to apply right in front of the bigger man. Softly, Luke asked "...Would it have been better if I had won, instead?" Erika almost nodded, but then she just gave a little shrug. She took a step back from him, finally rediscovering her voice. Her lips barely moved as she mumbled "...Look, I've gotta go, for the night. We made a deal, though...I'll see you tomorrow. We'll...We'll talk, some more. S-See you then, Luke."

She still couldn't look into his face, even when he spoke her name. Without even putting on her corset, with her ten-inch erection still tenting up her skirt, she walked away, opened her wings, and took off, quickly beating up into the sky without a glance back. Not even the cool night wind against her body could lessen her ardour, which didn't help her anxiety. Too much had gone through her mind for her to explain to Luke, and even if she could've, she wouldn't have burdened him with her troubles. Balthazar, her overseer, had ordered her, directly ordered her, to get rid of Luke and finish this thing before it became an issue. Not only had she defied him, but she and Luke had made another deal...And had escalated to ass-play. Their relationship was coming closer and closer to breaking her penance.

Balthazar was right: her corruption attempt was coming dangerously close to getting her into trouble. That wasn't the only thing giving her pause, but it was certainly the biggest. She furrowed her brow. She should've said something to Luke, explained. Maybe he would've understood. They really couldn't keep doing this, anymore. Regardless of how he felt on the matter, she was a man, and so was he. Besides, they were on opposite sides of the powers that be. If Balthazar knew what they had been up to, he'd be coming up from Hell in person, penetration or no penetration. Still, Luke had only the best of intentions. He was an idiot, sure, but he had a good heart, and misguided though he may have been, he...Cared.

The thought made Erika stubbornly grit her teeth. He shouldn't have. She'd need to show him that this wasn't going to work out the way he, or she, wanted. He deserved better than a sucker punch, however. He wasn't a bad guy, he was just an idealist. She'd need to man up and actually talk to him, about it. They could settle this like adults. What they were doing wasn't necessarily wrong, but...Sure, she had fun, but not like that, right? Well...Maybe more than she'd want to admit, but could she be blamed for feeling that way when the one restriction on her actions was "No men allowed?" She grimaced. "Do as thou wilt." Rang a bit hollow when she felt pressured not to talk with him.

Maybe it was for the best. She wasn't about to let herself get suckered in by the servant of a god who had abandoned her, and if she didn't have the time she'd need to corrupt him until he could join her in damnation, then...She had tried pushing him away, but if a push needed to become a shove, then so be it.

Big, fat, jiggling asses. Fat cheeks that bounce around with the slightest hip shakes. The plump bulges of cocks and balls in pants too tight. Her coworker at the farmer's market. Her big, round ass so clearly defined in those denim hosen, just waiting to be played with. Seeing her coworker drop to her knees, lift up her skirt, and start suckling at her aching prick right behind the fruit stall, begging her for her cum. Peeling her coworker out of her pants and freeing her own hard-on before bending her over the vegetable stall. Shoving her cock up her coworker's ass, dry, no lube, forcing a slow, rough fuck upon her until, sniffling and blubbering, she blows the biggest load of her life across the eggplants and tomatoes, whispering how much she had always loved her. Clapping her lap into her coworker's thick cheeks until the pleasure makes her admit the same thing in return.

Erika grinned, her eyelids flickering at her first victim of the night's fantasies. The young woman was too terrified to cry out, but she could still simply cry. Erika gave a hungry chuckle as she widened her eyes, her eyes glowing like hot coals as she poured visions of sex into her victim's fertile mind, overcoming her with her own desires and aches. In a soft, unnaturally echoing coo, Erika teased "Dry anal sex, huh?...That's a rare one...Kinky. Roll over, girly. I'll give you what you like...Not the way you want it, but you're still gonna love it. Ten inches, slut. Oh, I'll be gentle, don't you worry...Heh heh heh..."

The woman, already drooling, dumbly nodded, whimpering encouragingly as she flipped over onto her elbows and knees. Erika could only grin when the young woman stuck her ass up into the air and presented herself like a bitch in heat, giving the incubus a chance to bury her bone in the girl's backyard. Erika could only sigh inwardly out of sheer relief. Ever since Luke had tongued her, her hard-on had simply refused to go back down. Damn thing had been a little less than aerodynamic, during her flight. At last, she'd have a chance to pop somebody's black cherry and calm herself back down. It was about time.

However, when Erika mounted her groaning victim and forced herself to ram home, it wasn't the woman underneath herself that she was thinking of. No. When she closed her eyes, it was Luke whom she fantasized about.

~~End of Ch. 3~~

Chapter 4: Touch Faith

Chapter Text

Incubus Erika

Part II ‑ "House of God"

By: Jesse Racine AKA Samson

Original Date Written: October 13, 2016

Erika counted the minutes until the next sundown. A full day wasn't nearly enough time for her to fully come to grips with what she needed to do. Luke needed to get it into his thick skull that the path they were on wasn't something that could last, and there was only one way she could teach him that lesson. As soon as the world had gone to sleep, her portcullis activated. She broke out into a cold sweat, almost instantly. She hurried over and sat herself down in front of the face-to-face portal, once again confronted with the canine-like visage of her overseer, Balthazar. Unlike before, however, he seemed different, more aloof. He didn't even snarl when he saw her. Instead, he leaned in closer to the portal, sightlessly staring at her from underneath his helmet.

"Erika...I see that the problem has not been fixed. The paladin is still alive. I told you to kill him...And, you did not. In fact, you did the exact opposite and made another one of your little deals with him. How...Enterprising, of you."

Erika swallowed some saliva to steady herself. She wanted to wipe some perspiration off of her forehead, but refused to let Balthazar see she was nervous. Instead, she tried to put on a brave front, semi-firmly answering "I haven't broken my penance. I can tell that I'm wearing him down. His faith is one thing, but that can never be broken, right off the bat. The important thing is, I've gotten my foot in the door, and I'm already starting to corrupt him. He's no different than the other paladins I've dealt with. It shouldn't take long, now. I'm already getting him interested in the sex, and it's worming into him."

He didn't get angry. Instead, he got cold, and his answer sent a chill down her spine, his voice still as sharp in her ears as ever. "It's not him being interested in the sex that I'm concerned about. It's you being interested that has me concerned. Perhaps you overestimate your influence over him? Why bother with this game, Erika? Why prolong this and put yourself at risk? Because he's a man? Even corrupted, the two of you couldn't be together. Get it over with and end him. This talk of corrupting him holds no water, with me. You're simply attempting to convince yourself that your efforts are anything other than what they truly are, and it's bringing me closer and closer to coming up there."

Erika's tail nervously swished, behind herself. Her jaw tightened as her eyes drifted off to the side. His words hit closer to home than she wanted to admit, so when she opened her mouth, it was only to defensively argue. Instead, Balthazar raised his taloned hands, pulled his helmet off, and exposed his face. Erika immediately flinched, wincing, her eyes narrowing as her teeth went on edge. Her lips barely parted as she leaned back from the portcullis. Balthazar's eyes were yawning black pits, seemingly bottomless, with piercing red pinpoints of light at either center. The small stars were agonizing to look into, like sunbeams on a cloudless afternoon, but she couldn't bring herself to look away. His compulsion was too potent.

"I'm quite comfortable right where I am. If I have to go up there, Erika, you'll curse yourself for showing this holy warrior this sort of unwarranted mercy. Do the right thing. Do what you already know you need to do. Don't let this one obstacle get in the way of eternity."

His voice intensified until it began to echo, and once it did, it became as like needles in her ears, piercing into her to crawl down her spine. She grit her teeth and grabbed the edge of her table, uncontrollably extending her fingernails into talons, piercing them into the wood.

"You can either spend your time preying upon women, or you can spend it down here. You know what you have to do. Don't disappoint me."

The rippling portal vanished with a pop, sealing shut. The instant his hold over her had faded, Erika heaved a sigh and withdrew her talons, letting go of her table. Breathing hard, perspiration beading on her forehead, she rose to her feet fast enough to knock over her stool, then stumbled away. He was right. He had always been right, but that didn't mean she had to like it. She had always known it would come to this. It always did, with paladins. She had almost talked herself out of it, that afternoon. She had almost allowed herself to believe the fiction that she could keep Luke away through deals. She had tried that road, and he had always been victorious. He had even almost talked her out of pursuing it, as well. There was too much at stake for this to go on, any further.

When she emerged from her lair shortly afterwards, she did so with hard, resolute footfalls, her hands clenched into fists at her sides. She came out glaring, her wings partially open as she stepped out into the pale moonlight. There was a breeze, that night. Cold. Faint, but enough to nip the skin. She immediately scanned around for Luke, and within seconds, she spotted him. Dumb bastard would never stop pressing his luck until either of them got their way. Well, tonight, he'd get his resolution. He hadn't even stepped out from the shade of a tree before she was calling out "Hey! Get over here!" He visibly hesitated at her fiery tone. When he stepped out, he only slowly walked towards her, one eyebrow gently raised as he looked her up and down.

He was wearing the same clothes he had worn the night before, only now, he had the addition of a crucifix pendant. Fortunate, considering her plans. He walked over until he was within speaking distance, at which point she raised a hand, gesturing for him to stop. He complied, and as he slipped his hands into his pockets, he quietly greeted her. "Erika...Always good to see you. Something wrong? What's with the get-up?" "Shut it," she snapped. He lightly raised his eyebrows out of surprise. Glaring over into the tall man's eyes, she muttered "Because of our deal, I have to talk to you. That's fine. We can talk while we settle this. I'm not compelled to call in that sexual favour - I only reserved the right, it wasn't explicitly required. So, we can skip that bullshit."

She could see confusion in his eyes, which swiftly morphed into that ugly look of disappointment. He had probably already figured it out. Her new outfit should've given away that she wasn't in the mood for games, should've reminded him of what she was: a demon. Her skimpy latex outfit was the same starting uniform many succubi are given upon their reincarnation, which Erika, seemingly for no reason other than to fuck with her, was also supplied. Oh, the official reason was that she'd need it to seduce all those naughty little girls, but she had heard the snickers. Bastards.

Still, it was a fun outfit, and more than a little nasty. She wasn't afraid to admit she enjoyed wearing it, but considering where it had come from and what it symbolized, she saved it for only the most special of occasions, the last of which had been decades ago. For starters, she had, of course, kept her leather collar, that obligatory leash just waiting to be used by the right person. To match the metal-rimmed heart in her collar, she wore heart-shaped metal pasties over her nipples, the two pasties connected to each other by a thin chain, stretching across her cleavage to go from one ample, otherwise bare breast to the other. For her arms, she wore pure black latex opera gloves that spanned from her fingertips all the way up past her elbows, the glossy material shining underneath the moonlight.

To go with the opera gloves, she wore matching black latex thigh-high boots, stretching up all the way until they had crossed her thick thighs and nearly reached her crotch. Of course, the tight boots had open heels to allow her natural bone horns to come through, but other than that, nothing marred the perfect, satiny latex. A sleeve of fishnets covered her tail from nearly base to tip, crisscrossing the demonic red limb with black lashes all the way up to her spaded tip. The last piece of her outfit was, of course, the essential black latex thong. Not even an incubus with an oversized manhood was spared that all-important accessory. The rear of the thong was, to be expected, utterly swallowed up by her thick, round ass, hopelessly buried into her valley until the damn thing was invisible.

If she thought too hard on the feeling of the tight thong stretched taut across her pucker, if she contemplated just a little too long on the fact that her jiggly ass was out there on full display for everyone to see, she'd start tenting the front, and the damn thing was already so snug, a hard-on would probably get the thing snapping right off. As it was, the damn thing was only really good for covering her limp cock - her nearly apple-sized balls helplessly spilled out either side, putting her smooth, bloated undercarriage as much on display as her ass. The thong was decorated at the front with a small metal skull, right up near the waistband, the eye sockets a glittering pair of genuine rubies. Just above the skull, a good portion of her crimson pubic hair peeked out, exposing at least half of her thick triangle of nether hair. Delicious.

With so much of her light, silky flesh on display, her cherries belly tattoo was openly visible, inviting one to kiss her tummy on their way southward. All she needed was a riding crop, and she'd fit the dominatrix look to a tee. "...What's going on, Erika?" Luke asked, a little slowly, a little quietly. Erika didn't waste time. Raising a hand near her chest, she stuck a finger in his direction, waving it up and down as she muttered "No armour and no weapon, of course. Why would I expect differently? I half expected you to know this was coming and arrive prepared, tonight. You already know so much else about me, you fucking mind-reader."

He raised his eyebrows and took a small step backwards, the surprise on his face unabated. She put her hands to her hips, her teeth going on edge as she uttered "Get your sword. Get your armour. We're finishing this, tonight. I tried telling you that this couldn't go on, I tried warning you that things were gonna get nasty if we kept going, and now, it has. You kept asking for it and asking for it, and now, it's happening." The look he gave her tore at her. He was confused. Legitimately confused. He knew this wasn't like her, he had always banked on it, and he could probably already tell that he wasn't going to talk her out of it, this time.

Poor little guy didn't seem to know what to say. He blinked, his mouth hanging open as he tried to find the words. He raised a hand, like a feeble attempt to slow her down, but she just snapped "Listen. I'm doing you a favour, right now. There's no bullshit, here. I'm doing the right thing and giving you a chance to get ready before we settle this. If you force me to, though, I'll scrap that idea and just deal with you, right here and now. Whatever works." "Erika, please, I didn't want this-" Luke hurriedly said, arching his eyebrows.

She cut him off by raising her hand again, prompting him to stop. With a condescending sneer, she remarked "It doesn't matter what we want, Luke. It never does. The only thing that matters is what we have to do, and you and I have both been ignoring our roles for too long. I told you that we couldn't keep doing this, and stubborn idiot that you are, you just ignored me. Now, it's too late." The breeze began to pick up, rustling all of the trees around them, causing the branches to sway with the sound of rainfall. Luke turned his hand to the side, sighed out his unspoken words, and simply dropped his hand. The anguish overtaking him was palpable. His shoulders were slumping. He was deflating. He couldn't meet her eyes, anymore. He looked down at the ground, crestfallen.

Erika told herself to ignore it. Her teeth going on edge, her voice quieted, a little, as she muttered "...You have fifteen minutes. Get your gear, say your prayers, get in one last jerk-off, do whatever you need to do, because when those fifteen minutes are up, if you're not here, I'm coming after you. A word of advice: don't bother praying to God that you'll beat me. He can't just make you win with a snap of His fingers. You're better off praying that you just don't wind up like me." Luke raised his eyes to her's. A cold knot twisted in her gut at how a weak little smile crept up on him. His voice was small as he said "...For whatever it's worth, I didn't expect this. I honestly thought...I don't know. I thought this could work out without us getting to this point. I mean, it was always a risk, but..."

"Tick tock, Luke. You're wasting time," Erika muttered, gently furrowing her brow at him. Her brow unknit when he looked skyward. Raising his face to the moonlight made her see the glisten in his eyes. His smile grew, a little, before he said "I didn't want this. I just wanted to...You know, I wanted to show you that you were better than this, that this doesn't need to be the way things end up, for you. You didn't deserve this, you know that." She could feel a sting rise in her eyes, and it made her lip quiver. She bared her teeth and, in a low mutter, ordered "Stop it. Fucking go. I don't want to do this when you can't even defend yourself!" "What went wrong?" He asked, looking back down at her. The honest question shot through her defences.

"What happened? What made you feel this way? I mean, we were making progress, things were going fine. Sure, there was a little tension, but..." She clenched her hands, again. She started marching right up to him. He just watched her, standing his ground. She stopped directly in front of him, glaring up into his eyes. Barely above a whisper, she muttered "You were warned. I told you this would happen. I did everything I could to get you out of it. I told you I was trying to save your life. I tried telling you to leave. I tried telling you I didn't want your help. I tried making deals to save your ass. I tried covering for you to my own fucking boss. Now, it's just too late. Don't like it? Too bad."

Those cyan eyes of his were painful to look into, but not like Balthazar. No, Balthazar had been able to physically hurt her, but Luke crushed her on the inside. Quietly, he protested, saying "Erika, please, stop for a second, just think about this, about what's at stake-" She reached out and snatched his hand, baring her teeth until he could see her fangs. "Shut it. Being stubborn won't win this, for you. Not this time. New deal. Last one. We fight until one of us loses our heads, or our hearts are pierced. Fight happens tonight, and doesn't stop until there's a victor. It's that simple." Luke gently furrowed his brow, denying her with a simple "You can't force me into a deal, Erika. I don't accept."

The diminutive incubus barked up at him, snapping back "You fucking take this deal or else I'm flying right the fuck out of here, and then I'm gonna ignore the shit out of you from now on, and eventually, you'll be forced to fight me! It's now or a month from now! Take your pick, asshole!" Luke's jaw shifted as he clenched his teeth, looking off to the side. A couple moments passed before a bright red glow burst into life in the clearing, turning the trees all around a hellish crimson for a few moments. Erika stubbornly smiled as he slipped his hand out of her's. "Good," she uttered, a little taunt to twist the knife. Luke simply turned to leave. She watched him pace off a few steps until, from over his shoulder, he simply said "I'm sorry I couldn't help you, Erika...I really tried."

"Suck it up, buttercup," she taunted, a warble in her rebuke. He didn't answer. He kept her waiting the full fifteen minutes before he finally returned. When he did, he was dressed to battle. He had put on a set of steel platemail, elegant in the simplicity of it. He had a thick breastplate with smooth pauldrons, sleek gauntlets and greaves, as well as a metal-reinforced loincloth, rounded out with a winged great helm. The face of his helm was decorated with a golden cross that helped form the eye slits he peered through, and similarly, a grand cross had been painted onto the chest of his armour in pure white, bearing his faith for a shield. In his left hand, he held an actual kite shield at the ready for a more practical line of defence, while in his right, he held a thick broadsword...Which was still very conspicuously sheathed, she immediately noticed. It infuriated her to no end.

Sticking out an arm, she jabbed a finger at his sword, yelling out "Hey! The fuck is that?! What did I tell you?! We're fighting! How are we supposed to fight if you keep your sword dull?!" He stopped walking on the other side of the clearing. His helmet shifted as he looked at the ivory scabbard of his blade, tied to the crossguard. When he looked back at her and simply gave a shrug, she nearly gave a backflip like a mutt at a dog show. "What the fuck is that supposed to mean?! Take that shit off!" Luke called back "But that wasn't part of the deal!" Erika nearly burst out laughing at the absurdity of it all. Stubborn jackass. He had manipulated other deals, why not this one, too? All it was going to do was get him killed, this time. What the hell was he thinking?

He resumed approaching, and she confrontationally marched to meet him. Once they were just outside arm's reach of each other, they stopped, and when Erika opened her mouth to say something, Luke interrupted her. His voice muffled by his helmet, he said "Erika, please...Reconsider. Please. Don't make me do this. I don't want to do this." Again, Erika coldly asserted "It doesn't matter what we want in life, the only thing that matters is what we have to do - what we're expected to do. Right now, this is what you need to do to survive. This was how things should've gone from the very first minute of us seeing each other, and instead, we played games like...Like a couple of idiots."

"It wasn't games to me," Luke insisted, raising his shield hand near his chest. She grit her teeth. She couldn't see his agonized face now, but instead, he was saying shit that hurt just as badly. She wanted to order him to stop trying to distract her, but instead, she simply demanded "Even though I'm not one of your succubi? What do you mean?" "I was only trying to save your soul," Luke patiently insisted. "Succubi, incubi, it didn't matter. That's never mattered. Why bring this up, now? Yes, I'm sworn to hunt succubi-" "I bring it up because that's the crux of the entire fucking issue, Luke!" Erika blurted out, her eyes widening. "I am not a succubus! I am not a woman, and I cannot fool around with men! That's my penance as a demon! That's the one rule I need to abide by!"

She couldn't see his face. Couldn't read his response. He just quietly looked at her, for a moment, before he softly said "...I see. Well. The sex was always your choice, Erika. You never had to do anything you didn't want to do. Neither of us did. I even asked you, last night, if our meetings always needed to end in sex, and you said yes. You could've just talked with me, instead. We were finally getting there, last night. Why does it need to be this way, now?" She almost growled with annoyance. He was sidetracking her. She could see right through him. They were on the verge of fighting, and he was trying to distract her out of it. Instead of answering his question, she instead thrust a hand skyward and snapped "Why the hell do you wanna "save" me so badly?! Save me from what?! I'm fine as I am! What, you want me to go up there, with Him, the prick who sent me to Hell in the first place?! I believed in Him, and He sent me down just for the way He made me!"

Luke stammered for a moment, which only served to fuel Erika's rage. Baring her teeth, she snapped "My point exactly." "I...Don't think it can be that simple," Luke protested, which only had Erika growling. She flexed her hands, and her fingernails extended into claws. When she threw an arm back, her growl became a frustrated shout, and she swiped her hand down. He raised his shield and blocked the swipe, but her claws tore rivulets across the metal, shearing off thin ribbons of steel. He stumbled backwards as she lunged forward and continued the assault with another couple swipes from both hands, trying to bypass his shield, cutting high and low. He always seemed to know just where to put his shield, preternaturally halting her reckless barrage until she had shredded the face of his shield so badly, she had torn straight through to his gauntlet.

The next time she raised her arm to slash at him, he swatted out with his sword. Although his weapon was sheathed, he went a step further and struck her with only the flat of the blade, swatting her under her arm until he had slapped his sword into her ribs. She immediately grabbed her breast and stumbled to the side, then glared at him and snapped "That was my fucking tit, you asshole! Jesus, that fucking hurt!" "Well, we're fighting, aren't we?" He retorted, ruefully. He hesitated, raised his sword again, and hesitated a second time. When he finally swatted his broadsword down, she had gotten ample time to see the strike coming and beat her wings hard, pulling back until she had jumped half a dozen feet away from him, gliding backwards before nimbly landing on her bone heels.

He hurried towards her, raising his sword to smack her over the shoulder. She ducked the blow, sweeping her claws across his thighs, cutting through the steel like a hot knife through butter. Blood answered her attack, as did a grunt from the tall man. The knot in her stomach tightened, but she didn't stop. She stood back up, lashing out blindingly quickly all the while, moving with inhuman speed as she cut him here and there, biting through his layer of metal. She cut him across his sword arm. She cut him across his chest. She gouged her claws into his shoulders, then twisted them back out.

His sudden speed caught her off-guard. Grabbing the tip of his sheathed sword with his shield hand, he thrust out the flat of the blade like a clothesline, bashing her straight across the chin hard enough to send her stumbling backwards. He didn't press his advantage, instead giving her time to recover. The leniency only made her glare and bare her teeth. He was stronger than her, when he actually applied himself. He was more durable than her, as well. If he hadn't given himself a handicap, he'd be just as much a threat as any other paladin. However, she was more agile than he was. She was faster, and she was hardly a weakling. Plus, she had an advantage he could never match: wings.

She ran a couple steps towards him, leapt into the air, and opened her wings. The glide sped her up twofold, and when she dove into him, she rammed him with enough force to tilt the giant over. With a resounding crash, Luke slammed down to his back, giving a hard grunt as the wind was thoroughly knocked out of his lungs. With a growl of annoyance, Erika grabbed his shield arm in one hand, hefted it up, and slashed her claws across the two handles of the thing. She grinned as his first line of defence was severed straight off of his arm, and with a cackle, she whipped the wrecked thing behind herself, sending it flying like a discus. She looked down at his helmet and chirped "There goes your shield, soldier boy! Let's see how you do, now!"

His shield arm broke out of her grasp in an instant, and when his hand found her throat, her eyes practically bugged out. She could hear his breathing escalating with exertion as he yanked her to the side, sending her rolling off of him. When she rose to her feet, she found he had somehow beaten her to the punch, and had even adopted a new stance. Without his shield to defend him, he had his arm out and at the ready, primed to parry her blows by smacking aside her hands. She rushed him, and when he swatted out his sword to slap her over the side of her head, she simply ducked. Instead of doing the smart thing of answering her duck with a knee to the face, he instead had to grin and bear it when she slashed him a few more times, effortlessly cutting through his armour like it was made of paper.

He turned his body to open the way, and when he smacked his hand down over the crown of her skull, just between the bases of her two horns, the force sent her stumbling past him, necessitating several steps where her back was left fatally exposed. He never capitalized. When she turned around, she paused. He was breathing hard, just like she was. The tears in his armour were glistening red. Right in front of her, he adjusted the grip on his broadsword, jostling it in his hand for a better hold. She briefly looked down at her hands, noting the blood on her claws. When she looked back up, there was a glimmer in her eyes. She recklessly lunged towards him again, blurting out "God damn it, just fight me properly, already!"

He tried to swing his sword at her, but she caught his wrist. With an expert flick of her other hand, she cut through the rope binding his scabbard to his handle. Just as quickly, she grabbed the sheath and slid it off, throwing it aside. Instantly, a bright white light flooded the space between them, and Luke used real upper body strength to tear his wrist out of Erika's grasp, nearly yanking her off of her feet, in the process. His sword had finally been exposed, and the consecrated weapon was already reacting to her demonic presence, violently.

The blade glowed white-hot, radiating divine might like a beacon, emitting a faint humming noise in the presence of an incubus. The sight of it drove a spike of primal fear straight through Erika's chest. That light, that pure, astral glow, spoke of the opposite, the luminary, that which was her bane. The weapon of a paladin served only to slay her kind, and every fibre of her being could sense it, was repelled by it. Perspiration beaded on her forehead. She curled her lip up as she eyed the blade, but still threw the scabbard away, trying to force Luke to abide by her decision. He instead stuck his blade behind himself, held out his free hand, and demanded "Stop!"

She hesitated for but a second at the urgency in his tone, then ignored him. She rushed him down, forcing him to bring his sword front and center to stop her, nearly making her skid right to a stop when that narrow beam of holy light came horizontal across his body, barring her progress. She opened her wings and gave a massive beat, buffeting him with a gust of wing. In the same motion, she took off, narrowly soaring over him until she could drop down behind the tall man. He twisted around elbow-first, trying to protect his backside with a blow that could've broken off one of her horns. She ducked it, and when she responded, the fight was over. In one deft movement, Erika planted one foot against his thigh and gave a backflip, slamming her other foot straight up into his face.

The unexpected, utterly savage blow not only knocked Luke's helmet clear from his head, but sent him stumbling backwards until he collapsed, his armour giving a great clang as it slammed into the dirt. As soon as Erika had landed on her feet, she was pouncing forwards with a snarl, jumping over until she could land in a straddle over his waist. He tried to knock her off, not with his sword, but with his free arm. She ignored him, grabbed his sword arm, and pulled it up past his head. She couldn't touch the blade, itself - the handle was bad enough. Still, touch it she did, slashing her claws across his forearm until his fingers opened up. Then, she was grabbing the sword handle, and the instant her demonic flesh touched the consecrated weapon, a great hiss arose, her fingers and palm immediately searing straight through the latex where the grip touched her.

With a harsh grunt of pain, she whipped the sword off to the side, sending it singing through the air until it clattered to the dirt, half a dozen feet away. Then, she was looking down at Luke, grabbing the gorget of his breastplate with the one smouldering hand. She stared him in the eyes as she cocked back her other elbow, priming her claws for his throat. He wasn't the first paladin she had killed, and he certainly wouldn't be the last. It'd be so easy - a few good swipes, and the deal she had made would be fulfilled. That's what she told herself, at least. When she saw his eyes, she just froze. He wasn't fighting her, anymore. He had dropped his arm back to the dirt. He was just watching her, face a little red and slick from exertion, breathing heavy.

Instead of giving the deathblow, she instead pulled at his breastplate, shaking him as she raised her voice, nearly shouting down at him. "I told you this would happen! I told you to just leave me alone!" Dew welled up in her eyes. Her voice cracked. "Why didn't you just leave me alone?!" Luke gave a slow blink. "Because you deserved better," he simply answered. The calm in his voice didn't make things any easier, for her. It were almost as if he had already resigned himself. Her eyes closed to slits under the sting. She grit her teeth and snapped "Apparently, I didn't! Don't you get it?!" His eyes glistened, too. "I'm sorry," he quietly answered, his throat audibly tightening. She bared her teeth and pulled her elbow further back, tears streaming down her cheeks. They just stared at each other.

Her chin started to quiver. Blood was dripping from the tips of her claws. Look at how badly she had already hurt him. She had slashed the big lunkhead to ribbons, and he had just taken it without a peep of protest. He had trusted her, and she had cut him up. Poor bastard, why did he have to try his little experiment with her, of all demons? Her breathing sped up as she tried to build up the nerve, her brow furrowing deep, her teeth going on edge. Those cyan eyes of his just wouldn't look away. Her brow slowly unknit as her bottom lip began quivering. He wasn't even fighting her. She had beaten him. She had won. He didn't even have a weapon in his hands, anymore. This was murder. This was monstrous. She bared her teeth and slowly started shaking her head.

She couldn't do it. Not to him.

The realization broke the compulsion. She nearly sobbed when she dropped her arm. He lightly raised his eyebrows. She leaned over him a little, and once her claws had receded into fingernails, she touched the side of his face. He could only watch the teardrops fall from her golden eyes, hitting his face. Her voice was choked up as she warbled "I'm so sorry! I didn't w-want to hurt you, I didn't mean the things I s-said! I had no choice! If I don't get rid of you, I'll be really damned!" Luke blinked a couple times in rapid succession. His eyes shifted to the moon up above. His lips moved in silent thanks. When he looked back down at Erika, she was blubbering out "I'm so, so s-sorry! I didn't want to hurt you, I...!"

He gently raised one of his hands to the back of her head, gently petting her silky hair, easing her forehead down to his gorget. "It's alright," he patiently shushed. "I'm proud of you. You did well." She closed her eyes and quaked. Even now, he was putting up with her. The thought only made her ashamed, but it still undid the knot in her belly. The damage didn't end up being even nearly as severe as she had imagined it would be. After Luke had given her time to calm down, he said a prayer, and in a washing curtain of golden light, he was healed. All of the lacerations she had given him simply sealed, and he was no worse for wear.

It was enough for Erika to give a sigh of relief. In the heat of the moment, she had forgotten that paladins could heal themselves. When he hadn't done so in the middle of the fight, she had almost thought he hadn't learned that skill. He was quick to then collect his scabbard and put away his divine knight-blade, removing his holy weapon from play. She simply sat on the ground and watched him as he took off his armour, setting it all down on the grass for himself to take a look at. He couldn't help smirking as he remarked "You really did a number on me. Look at this. It's a wreck." "Yeah, well," she mumbled, halfheartedly. "We were fighting, weren't we?" He chuckled and looked down at himself, holding his arms out by his sides. "Wrecked my clothes, too. Crucifix is alright, though. That's good."

She just arched an eyebrow, a little. She perked up when he abruptly pulled off his wool sweater, remarking "Ach, I can't wear this, anymore. It's good for the garbage. I need a bath, too, gotta get all this blood off." She lightly cleared her throat and turned her head to the side to avert her eyes, but couldn't help shifting back to look at him through the corners of her eyes. Look at him, there. Putting that muscle on display when he's sweaty, and...Glistening. She tried to hide her ogling by raising a hand, sweeping some of her hair behind an ear. When he started pulling off his boots and denim hosen, she cleared her throat a second time, finally averting her eyes and keeping them that way. Looking off at nothing in particular, she idly asked "How did you know I wouldn't kill you?"

He raised his eyebrows, looked over at her, and smiled widely. Visibly fighting a grin, he matter-of-factly stated "I didn't. I had absolutely no idea. You caught me completely off-guard, tonight. I thought tonight was going to be just like last night." "Yeah, well, I'm just chock-full of surprises, aren't I?" Erika remarked, lackadaisically. His smile finally evolved into a grin. Wearing nothing but his crucifix and a black pair of trunks, he walked towards her. When he reached her side, he leaned over, held one of her horns by the base, and planted a kiss over the top of her head. Her face opened up in surprise. He walked past her and headed off, remarking over his shoulder "There's a little creek, nearby. I'll be back, once I wash up."

She looked over her shoulder and watched the seat of his trunks as he went, but quickly bit her lip and looked away. For a moment, she had the absurd thought that she should've let him hurt her in their fight - if he had, she'd have an excuse to join him. Instead, she just sat there and waited for mister paladin to return, and once he had, still shaking the water out of his hair, trunks a little damp, she promptly went ahead and asked "Hey. You didn't fight me as hard as you could've. I know you didn't, I've done this song and dance, before. I'm just wondering...How close were you to actually trying? Did I ever make you nervous? How far were you holding back?" Luke sighed out "Ahh, you know. Well, sure, you had me worried, a couple times. But, I was pretty determined not to fight, Erika."

She didn't point it out, but he hadn't exactly answered her question. Still, it had been partly rhetorical. She knew that if he had actually tried, really, legitimately tried, that fight wouldn't have ended anywhere nearly as quickly, nor as cleanly. She supposed he was too modest to dip into boasting territory. She idly watched his legs as he walked over in front of her, slowly seating himself down on the grass in front of the cross-legged incubus. She looked up at the crucifix on his chest, then went higher up to his eyes. Her mouth hung open, for a moment, as she debated the issue. It was a quick resolution. This needed to be settled, and if they weren't going to do it the easy way, then they'd need to do it the hard way: by talking.

"...I've been ordered to kill you, you know. I was ordered to, last night." His expression didn't really change. She wanted to explain further, but didn't know what to say, and so simply went silent, letting the declaration stew. Eventually, he raised his eyebrows, gave a sigh of a chuckle, smirked, and said "I was ordered to purify or exorcise you before I even met you. So, I guess we're even." His carefree answer caught her a little off-guard. She stammered for a moment, remarking "W-Well, it'll probably piss you off to hear I'd rather corrupt you, instead, and get you sent to Hell." "That's not really all that different from me wanting to redeem you," Luke pointed out, giving a slow shrug.

Erika smiled a little, her eyes dropping to the ground. Even after everything that had just happened, he took it in stride. Big idiot had a heart of gold. Her lips moved only slowly as she flatly said "Luke...I don't think you really get how serious this situation is. I was ordered to kill you. Directly ordered, twice. I don't want to, but when you're in my line of work, when your boss starts pushing something, you do it." Her eyes flicked up to his. She briefly puckered her pink, lipstick-covered lips, then added "...I don't know if you know this, but the only real creed of Hell, especially for the sex demons, is "Do as thou wilt." I don't want to kill you, which normally should mean I don't have to, but Balthazar isn't fucking around." She raised her eyebrows, stared him dead in the eyes, and matter-of-factly stated a very simple "This isn't an issue that's gonna go away by ignoring it."

Luke gave a heavy yet brief sigh, through his nose. He leaned back, planted a hand against the ground behind himself, and said "Well, I think I finally understand what the issue was, with the deals we made. But, you haven't truly broken your penance, have you? Our, uh...Our contact, sure, contact hasn't been light, but...It could be more severe. You haven't actually broken any rules, have you?" Erika narrowed her eyes. She put an elbow to a thigh, propped her chin in her hand, and said "No, I haven't, and that's the thing. I've done this before with other paladins...Uh, hope that doesn't piss you off...And while I've come close in the past, Balthazar never actually gave a shit. In fact, before last night, the last time I had heard from him was almost nine years ago."

She arched an eyebrow. "He's never really cared about what I do, before now. I just, I do what I do, and my job gets done. He's never made a big deal about any of the paladins I've dealt with. But, for some reason, he suddenly cares now, about you, and it's starting to get under his fucking skin. He doesn't want me to corrupt you, he's suddenly worried I'm going to break my penance - which you'd think he wouldn't care about, since..." She trailed off, gave a sigh, and just mumbled "I don't know. It's just a screwed-up situation, all around." Luke's eyes relaxed, a little, as he gave a gentle shake with his head. "I've said it before and I'll say it again: I don't begrudge you for doing what you need to do to survive. If someone threatened your life, I don't hold it against you, defending yourself. Your will to live, that drive to stay here, in the mortal realm, really says something."

Her eyes shifted to his. She simply cocked an eyebrow up at him. He smiled a little, then added "...And, maybe Balthazar doesn't like what I'm doing because I'm not doing the same thing other paladins do. That just tells me I'm on the right track." She smirked, gave a huff of a sigh, and glanced skyward. They were silent for a few moments, but eventually, she raised her chin, dropped her hand to her lap, and gave him an intent look. Her voice was soft, low, as she murmured "Listen...I wanna ask a favour of you." His expression opened up, a little. He sat up, readily saying "Sure. Shoot." She raised her eyebrows and murmured "Just...Stay away, for a bit. Seriously, this time. Give things time to settle. Let me have a chance to calm Balthazar down. Maybe, if you stay away for a week or two, he'll relax. I might be able to convince him that you left, for whatever reason."

He opened his mouth to speak, but she quickly added "I know this is probably a lot to ask of a paladin. Don't worry, I'm not going anywhere. I know where your camp is, now. I'll visit you, see you every few nights, or something. After a few days of hanging around my doorstep, it's only fair I get to see your camp, a bit more...Don't ya think?" She arched an eyebrow and smiled a little, her eyes half-closed and smouldering. He slowly exhaled through his nose. He wasn't smiling, anymore. His eyes went down to the ground. He slowly blinked a few times, then asked "...You'll see me, on your own? Without a deal to force you? You'll just...Come visit me?" Trying not to come across defensive, she murmured "That's what I said, isn't it? I'll go see you, every now and then. We'll talk, more. Agreed?"

She turned her head to the side, her lips spreading into a wolfish half-grin. "S' best you're gonna get, Luke. I'm not even gonna make an official deal out of it," she tossed out, purely as an afterthought. He raised an eyebrow, smiled, and playfully quipped "Is that so? Well, how do I know you'll actually see me, if you don't have a deal strongarming you? It seems like you're loath to do anything without magic forcing you." She grinned from ear to ear and said "You don't. But, you have my word. Whether or not a demon's word means anything to you is up to you to decide." He smiled more, gazed at her for a second, then nodded his chin up at her and said "I'll trust you. You deserve it, by this point."

He took a sniff, shook his hand through his damp hair again, and started to stand up. She watched him with a coy little smile, teasingly remarking "Now, where do you think you're running off to, all of a sudden?" He raised his eyebrows and gave her a legitimately confused look. Pouting out his lower lip, he raised an eyebrow, shrugged, and slowly commented "Well, uh...It's getting late, and I guess we've done our business, for the night. Any night I come close to dying is a full night, in my book. Besides, you just asked me to give you some time alone. I thought I'd, you know...Say goodnight." Her eyebrow went as high as her smirk. Watching him with her usual smouldering eyes, she sucked her teeth, then cooed "You thought wrong. Night's not done until I get my favour."

She started to rise to her feet, her tail giving an excited swish behind her, fwipping from her right to her left. He gave a somewhat anxious smile, lightly chuckled, and tilted his head to the side, gently narrowing his eyes as he pointed out "But, eh...You said you'd skip the favour, earlier. Remember?" She grinned. "I changed my mind," she chortled. Pouting out her lips in a little smile, she dropped her chin, gave a little shake with her head, and cooed "Nothing in the rules said I couldn't change my mind. All I did...Was reserve the right. And now, I'm invoking it." He gave another little chuckle, then cleared his throat. She grinned. Oh, he was nervous, alright. A little spooked, even. He certainly had good reason to be. She could ask for anything she wanted, after all. Absolutely anything, and she had a superb imagination.

She carefully set either foot down in front of the other, swinging her wide hips with a dancer's grace as she sashayed straight up to him. She gazed up into his eyes, her grin growing all the more intense. Oh, what to do, what to do...For the first time, she truly had him all to herself. She could do anything, he would do anything. All she had to do was ask. A mischievous flash crossed her eyes as she raised a hand and curled a finger, beckoning him down towards her. Why settle on just one favour, she thought? She was nothing if not a glutton. When he was this easy, could she be faulted some indulgence? Of course not. Penance be damned, this paladin was her toy for the night. All she had to do...Was not go that final little step. Everything else was good fun. Everything.

Slowly, he did as she bade, leaning over towards the short incubus. She kept beckoning him closer until he had entered kissing distance, at which point she gently held his chin with her finger and thumb, stopping him. Grinning, eyes sultry slits, she cooed "You're mine tonight, soldier boy. But, don't look so nervous! I'm good to my pets, you'll see." She raised her eyebrows high, turned her head a little to face him with a cheek, and glanced down at the ground. Her voice was a soft purr as she hummed in thought, then said "...I'll go easy on you, tonight. Consider it my apology for...Getting a little hasty, earlier. All I want you to do...Is lie down. Just lie down, for me." He subtly narrowed an eye. Slowly, he repeated "Just...Lie down? That's it?"

She winked. The slits of her pupils narrowed. He was her toy, and it already had her crotch boiling with the need to corrupt. "Just lie down," she commanded, compulsion uncontrollably acting as background noise to the demand. It didn't stir him, of course, but it didn't seem to annoy him, either. Before he could move, she opened her mouth, chastising him with a quick "Ah ah ah...I'm not done, yet." He went still, watching her eyes. She let go of his chin, letting him stay leaned over of his own accord, obediently waiting for her to finish saying what she wanted to say. Her barracuda grin stretched from ear to ear, but she felt absolutely no shame over her own excitement.

"I want you to lie down...And no matter what I do, you can't stop me. You can't fight me. You can't even move. You can talk all you want, though, especially if it's something saucy. It's not like I'm gonna gag you...Although, that'd be kinky. No, you just lie there and let me work my magic...And you stay that way, until I say the phrase "buttercup." Buttercup is the codeword to release you. That's the favour I want. Is that clear?" He tried to subtly swallow to steady himself, but she instantly spied the way his throat clicked. He blinked and looked skyward, some anxiety clear on his face. "And, uh...How long, exactly, would this go on, for?" Erika's grin fell to a big, cocky smile. Compulsion filled her voice, again, as she whispered "Until I make us both cum. How's that?"

His eyes dropped to her's. She nodded to the side, innocently cooing "Come on. Don't be bashful, I won't bite. Pick a spot. Relax, get comfortable." He gave a faint exhale through his nose, a reluctant smile growing on his face. "...Why do I have the funny feeling that I'm in for a, uh...Different night?" She just grinned at him. When he turned to walk away, her eyes darted down to his crotch. The long shape beginning to grow in his trunks had her tummy tingling. "Wait, stop," she hurriedly interrupted, still grinning. He turned around on a heel, facing her once more. She openly stared down at his crotch again, then winked and said "Undress me. Just the thong, though. Leave the rest."

"Undress you?" He repeated, dropping his chin, raising his eyebrows. She chuckled and quipped "What, that's too much, for you? After everything we've done together, you can't handle that? Yes, undress me. Take my thong off, for me. Should I ask you to pull it off with your teeth, instead?" Her grin became a wide, nasty smile. She wiggled her hips, delicately running her fingers across the strings of her latex thong. With another wink, she playfully cooed "C'mon, chop chop. Better hurry before I rip this thing off. I can barely contain myself, mister paladin. Any second now, I'm gonna start growin'..." "Alright, alright," he answered, faux-reluctantly. She just grinned, again. She could see right through his act. You can't fool a sex demon.

He walked back up to her, and when she tapped a finger against his chest and pointed downwards, he eased himself down to a knee. He looked up and matched her stare, but not her grin, when he reached out and took the straps of her thong in his fingers. He didn't yank her underwear down, but he didn't exactly take his time either, casually drifting it down from her veiled treasures. Erika practically purred, her eyes going half-closed. The string of her thong slipping out from between her cheeks, that tight pressure subsiding over her cock and balls, exposing her meaty manhood to the air...If she wasn't growing before, she certainly was, now. His eyes dropped to her cock as he eased her thong down her thick thighs, watching the way she unapologetically grew into a half-hard chub, rather rudely close to his face.

Once the thong reached her ankles, she lifted one boot, then the other. He stood up, looking down at the naughty incubus, her latex thong hanging off of one of his fingers. He raised his eyebrows, smiled, and asked "Satisfied?" She winked, snatched her underwear off of his finger, and said "Not even close, smart guy. Lie down." He sighed, evidently disappointed, but all it did was make her grin. She spun her thong around her fingertip as he walked a few paces off to the side, then eased himself down, lying down over his back with a somewhat anxious look on his face. She chuckled as she let her thong go, sending it cascading off somewhere behind herself. He was probably just nervous she was going to ask him to lie down over his front, instead. Mm...Maybe next time, if she could spin it in such a way so as not to break her penance.

She did say she'd go easy on him, and besides, there was plenty of fun stuff she could do with his front, plenty of stuff she could do to tease him. The front made it all the easier to make him watch her, to confront him with the reality that it was an incubus lording over him, not one of his precious succubi...She could make him admit he liked it, wanted it. With that in mind, she gave a hungry chuckle and pounced over, straddling him until her big bum slammed down into his stomach, making him wheeze and sit up, a little. She cackled and pushed him back down, grinning like a piranha. "Oh, c'mon," she teased. "Big guy like you can't handle lil' ol' me? Look at you. You're a fucking slab of meat."

He raised an eyebrow, reluctantly smiling, a little. Hands down between her thick thighs, she grinned and ground her hips around a little, intentionally shifting around that big, warm, malleable mass of delectableness against his stomach, which swiftly got her horn of meat fully jutting up from her lap. When she spotted his crucifix pendant, she paused. She made a bit of a face, reached for it, and commented "Let's ditch this, too." Before she could grab it, one of his hands came down over it. Her eyes went up to his. He gently raised his eyebrows and, in a somewhat flat tone that made it rather clear that he wasn't playing around, he simply said "I'll keep it, thanks. Just ignore it, if you don't like it."

She narrowed her eyes, a little. She gave a faint "Hmph," then softly said "Alright...If that's what you want. I just figured you wouldn't want God getting in on this action." He raised an eyebrow and retorted "He'd be able to see everything, regardless." She chuckled, leaned over, and dragged her tongue up along his chest with a big grin plastered across her face, staring up at him as best she could. "That makes Him a perv in my book," she quipped against his skin, which only had him rolling his eyes. She crawled up a little closer to him, brought her face by his, and whispered into his ear, remarking "He can't help you. You're my slab of meat, tonight. Don't forget it. We made a deal last night, which you lost."

She gently nibbled on his earlobe, trying not to chuckle at the way he lightly flinched, his whole body momentarily tensing up before shivering. As she let go and raised her head over his, he quietly said "It's not like I was trying to lose..." She gave a smug smile. Her eyes half-closed, she shrugged with her eyebrows and remarked "No, but you did. Besides, even if you had won, I'd still get what I wanted." She leaned over a little closer to him, her smile spreading from ear to ear. She ran a finger through his bangs, gazing into those cyan eyes of his as she commented "I would've gotten to look inside that little mind of your's and seen all the big, bad kinks you've got, locked away somewhere dark...Well, the kinks besides "girls" with big tits splattered from head to toe in spunk, anyway. That's next on the agenda, by the by. Don't think I'm gonna leave your skeletons in the closet."

He raised an eyebrow and actually smiled, a little. "Well, you'll have to win that in a deal, because there's no way I'm letting you in of my own volition," he remarked back. She just grinned. A challenge, eh? Don't let your mouth make problems that your ass can't handle. She sat back up and raised her hands to her bust, popping the metal heart-shaped pasties from her areolae. His eyes uncontrollably dropped to her cherry-sized nipples once the girls came out to play, which only had Erika chuckling. She gave the pasties a twirl by the chain connecting them, then sent them spinning off into the darkness. Then, she was turning around, intentionally keeping as close to him as she could, making her smotheringly big beanbag rub and smoosh against his abdomen.

She hummed with approval at the way his cock, obviously already reaching full size, strained against his trunks. Sliding across his body until she was in a better position to do the deed, she sat up on her knees and cooed "Let's just get you out of these, shall we? Not gonna need 'em for a while. Aaaand...There we go, nice and naked." She pulled his trunks off from his feet, tossed them aside, and eyed his prick with a smirk, mumbling "There you are, you fuckin' one-eyed monster." She heard Luke break into a chuckle behind herself. She just gave a wistful sigh, glanced skyward, and with a smile, remarked "A paladin with an eleven inch cock. That's about as pointless as a nun with G-cup udders. God has a funny sense of humour, sometimes."

She gently took his claymore around the base, leaned over far enough, and quickly slipped her tongue around the head just enough to get him moist enough that when she kissed him, it made a wet smooching noise. She grinned at the throb he gave, but still unhanded his manhood, chuckling at the way it bounced in need. She turned back around and dropped down to all fours, raising her hips until she could crawl over him, climbing the big man like a cat. He raised his head and looked down. In the thick moonlight and plentiful starlight, he could see her bloody crimson hair, her golden eyes, her big, full breasts helplessly swaying, and down below through her cleavage, the long, pulsating despoiler of an incubus, her unholy rod of meat as stiff as a board and delicately dragging across him as she brought her face to bear over his.

He looked up at her grin, and when she kept climbing higher, his eyes briefly widened. With a playful sigh, she dropped down to her elbows, propping her chin up in her hands...A move which brought her hefty bust squarely down over his face, smothering him into her cleavage, burying the poor paladin in her E-cups. The man's face was instantly and entirely covered up, to the point where the holy warrior was nearly using her bust for earmuffs, much to Erika's amusement. His breathing promptly became laboured, forcing him to shake his head, unintentionally nuzzling and motorboating her as he tried to make it easier for himself to breathe.

Erika gave a long, dramatic sigh, pouting out her lips as she whined "Oh, whatever will I do with you, mister? Here I am, a poor, wretched demon, an incubus who spends all his time fucking naughty little girls, and now, I have a paladin all to myself! It's not every day I get some big-dick saviour, knocking on my door..." She grinned, looked downwards, and quietly added "...And I thought I told you that you couldn't move." He went still and tried to say something, probably about how he couldn't breathe, but it only came out muffled, and Erika just laughed it off. She let him stew for a few more seconds, steaming up her cleavage with his breath until she finally bounced up, catching herself by planting her hands against the ground.

She looked down at him with a smirk. His face was a little red as he panted away, placidly remarking "I...Whew...I couldn't breathe, Erika..." She raised her eyebrow and smirked more, chiming back "Yeah, but you loved it. Why wouldn't you? Play your cards right, I might use 'em somewhere better." She slowly rolled her eyes as a mischievous thought crossed her mind. Her smirk became a grin as she started crawling even higher along his body, coming up all the way until her cock was sliding across his chest. With a contented sigh, she sat down over his collar bones, leaving her beanbag over his throat and her prick stretching across nearly two-thirds of his face.

She nearly laughed at the way his eyes crossed, homing in on the man-meat splitting his vision, filling his nose with the delicate fragrance of an incubus. She grinned, leaned to the side so that he could see her face to one side of her cock, arched an eyebrow, and said "Ever had a golden shower, soldier boy?" His eyes widened, which only made her cackle. The fact that he even knew what a golden shower was was delicious enough, but his reaction was simply hilarious, especially when he protested "You said you'd go easy on me!" She reached down and comfortingly rubbed the side of his head, cooing "I know I did. I'm just teasing, baby." She tilted her head to the side a little, pouted out her lips, and added "But, ya know what I'm not teasing about?"

He glanced off to the side, then looked back to her eyes. She grinned. "I'm gonna sit on that cute face of your's, that's what," she answered herself. His eyes widened, again. Her breathing grew husky like a predator as she started crawling forwards again, trying not to purr as her beanbag helplessly dragged across some of his face. Once she was high enough, she gave a contented sigh and sat back down, bringing her fat, bouncy tush straight down over his mouth. She curled her lip up and ground her hips around, intentionally digging in until she was in the position she wanted: her oversized balls blocking his eyes, his nose pressed into her taint, his mouth buried in until it was planted against her pucker, and his chin practically swallowed into her valley.

If he couldn't breathe in her cleavage, he was dead meat, under her thick bottom. She gave a hungry chuckle, then said "Theeere we go, nice and comfortable. You've done this before. Eating my ass is probably one of your kinks - who knows? Not me, that's for sure, not until I get to peek in your head and see exactly what gets you goin'. Get started, holy man. Make me sweat, and I'll let you breathe." His breaths huffed out against her taint, tickling the back of her beanbag. She looked down with a grin, nearly laughing at the sight. Past her balls, she could only really see the top of his head, his dirty blonde hair, which itself was split by her jutting cock, sticking straight up and out in desire.

When he obediently stuck out his tongue and started squirming it against her pucker, she cooed encouragingly, reaching down and petting him over the head. God, there it was again, that molten hot sensation against her backdoor. She bit her lip and gently grabbed her meat in her other hand, slowly stroking from root to tip, softly pulling her skin as she basked in his ministrations. He circled her pucker with his tongue, then waved up and down across it, firmly pressing in with his tip to explore her folds and poke at her, scooping her. She closed her eyes and gave a heavy sigh. Good little paladin, good...It's alright to let the incubus run playtime. It only means she likes you! She won't hurt you, it's alright! Explore her a little, and then she'll explore you!

She bit her lip and smiled, watching the perspiration bead on his forehead. His breathing was getting laboured, now. She was kind of surprised he hadn't started jerking off, actually. She led by example, speeding up her stroking until her balls were gently shifting against his face, rubbing her silky-smooth beanbag against his eyelids and eyebrows. Her voice was a soft whisper as she teased him, sending a tremble down his spine. "I should keep you down there all night...Just jerk myself off right here and now, then stroke you hard and fast until you're making a mess all over yourself. Wouldn't that be fun?" She waited for a response, but didn't get one. She just chuckled. "It would be, but...Nah, I'm thinking there's a few other things we can do, tonight. I'll play nice and get you off good, lover boy."

He encouraged the idea by poking the tip of his tongue extra hard against her crinkle, trying to wriggle his way inside. She grinned and did her best to relax, raking her fingers through his hair by way of admonishment. Arching an eyebrow, she remarked "You trying to tongue my prostate, again? I wish you luck." He managed to slip the tip of his tongue into her sphincter before she clenched and popped him back out, which had her giggling. With a steamy sigh, she said "No, I won't keep you down there, all night...I'm gonna pay loads of attention to that fat cock of your's until you're moaning my name. I won, and I'm gonna take my fuckin' reward...In spades!"

He gave a slow exhale against her body. Apparently, he liked that idea. She could only grin. When his attention got her face flushed enough to make some moisture bead on her forehead, she finally raised her hips, cooing that his job was done and he had done well enough. She held her hips over his face for a bit, letting him enjoy an up-close and personal view of her full, heavy balls dangling over him, then crawled back until her grinning face appeared over his. She swiped a finger across her hairline, then slipped her finger into his mouth as he panted away, giving him a little taste of her sweat.

The somewhat red-faced paladin closed his mouth around her digit and gave it a gentle suckle as she withdrew it. With a wink, she cooed "Good boy. I think it's time we moved on to the main course, don't you? I'm dying to play with that big dick, on my terms for once, and you're gonna have to watch it aaaall happen. Heh heh heh..." He swallowed, which only had her giving a condescending patting to his cheek, clapping him with her latex glove. She winked down at him, gave a cocky smile, and ventured to ask "What's my name?" He looked off to the side, his eyes wearily going half-closed. She grinned. Oh, he may not want to make that gesture of submission just yet, but not to worry. She still had time to train him.

She turned around over his body, facing his painfully rigid cock with a purr. She could practically feel his eyes on her ass as she crawled forward on all fours, coming just a bit closer to his member. She smirked and gave a little shake with her hips, rocking them up and down until she had her tush bouncing. She tried to look back over her shoulder at him, a massive grin on her face as she eyed him knowingly. She stuck an arm back, planted her hand over a cheek, and pulled herself to the side as best she could, exposing her dark star as much as possible with only the one hand. One of her eyes narrowed as she playfully ribbed him a little, remarking "That's a whole lotta booty, isn't it? You ever forget that I'm an incubus, you tear your eyes off and go just a teensy bit lower..."

She let go of her cheek, making her rump briefly jiggle back into place. She gave a slightly faster shake with her hips, making her big beanbag, heavy and tight around her oversized balls, give a perky little sway between her thighs. She arched her back and started grinding her hips forwards and backwards, rocking her bum closer to his face before easing it away, shifting herself back and forth until she could practically see his pupils dilating. With a nasty little chuckle, she boastfully asserted "You're gonna admit that I'm an incubus. You're gonna admit that I'm making you feel good. You're gonna admit that you think I'm sexy, even though I'm a boy...And then you're gonna cum, you, a paladin, blowing his load from a little demon, like me. Any complaints? Didn't think so."

She looked forward and faced his cock, again, as he panted out "You're still...A succubus, to me..." The defiance only made her smile. "That so," she challenged. With a happy sigh, she sat herself down over his abdomen, giving a brief grind with her hips to ensure he felt her balls against him. "Let's see about changing that," she added, grabbing his cock around the base. She dunked her head down, closed her eyes, and opened her mouth, giving a slow sigh as she engulfed just his tip into her mouth. He immediately tensed in her fist, throbbed against the ring of her lips, but he made not a sound, did nothing to voice his appreciation. She, on the other hand, teased him with all sorts of noises.

She openly moaned into his cock, closing her eyes as she tasted him, her breathing accelerating as she swirled her tongue around him, freshly moistening him for her lips to glide across. Once she started bobbing her head on the tip of his prick, she intentionally clamped down her lips as hard as she could, suckled as hard as she could on every draw stroke, making soft, wet, smooching noises in his lap. She could feel the tenseness spreading from his rod to the rest of his body, making him lock up, go rigid with wanting. She merely smiled. This big hunk of meat just had to lie there and take it until she got the job done, and what a fun job it would be. He was finally all her's.

She gave a gentle thrust with her hips, humping the air, rubbing her balls against his stomach. She started easing her head deeper, letting her lips slide past the crown of his tip, heading further in until she had a few inches in her mouth. She eased up the tightness of her lips, bringing a more gentle approach to the nursing, gently stroking the base of his rod as she massaged the other end with her mouth. She could hear him hold back a grunt at one point, which only made her smile around his prick. No doubt he wanted her to suck on more, maybe speed up a little, but that'd just make him pop too early, and where would the fun be in that? No, better for her to take her time, to really coax him toward the edge, then keep him there until she could meet him at the threshold. If he didn't like it, well, tough. She knew what she was doing.

She slipped him free from her mouth, sliding her lips across his swollen tip. With a steamy sigh, she opened her eyes and smiled, looking down at that purple-engorged tip, watching the way his skin moved, his length throbbed, as she slowly pumped her hand up and down, stroking him nearly from base to glimmering helmet. She arched an eyebrow, looked off towards her shoulder, and warmly murmured "You can make some noise, you know. I don't mind. Keeping silent isn't making you look strong, it's just making me want to try harder. Gimme a sigh, a little moan, a "good girl." Gimme something. Let me know I'm doing a good job." Her smile widened as she added "Say my name."

She listened close as Luke quietly answered "I don't...Really feel the need to...I don't think your ego needs any more inflating, Erika..." She grinned and started to move, lifting her hips until she could crawl all the way down his body. "This isn't an ego thing," she gently chastised. "I've already won. I was due for a real victory, don't you think? I'm just trying to make the most of it, and that includes getting you so worked up, you spew every drop of spunk inside your balls in just one load." Once she reached his legs, she turned around and faced him, bringing her face precariously close to his cock for a second time. She made a show of pouting, arching her eyebrows as she puckered her lips in a tiny frown.

Affecting a girlish coo, she mumbled "Oh...But the big, bad paladin doesn't wanna play nice. He isn't being fair, to me. He doesn't wanna let me know when I'm doing a good job. All I wanna do is play with him, but he keeps being mean!" She dropped her elbow hard into his hip, propping her cheek up in her palm. He raised his head to look down at her, and she answered by fluttering her eyelashes at him, pouting even harder. She gently flicked a fingertip against the tip of his cock, then gently rubbed him between her index finger and her thumb, playing with his head, diddling him. "Oh, whatever will I do, mister," she murmured. "I just want the soldier boy to like me, but he keeps being stubborn. He won't stop pretending I'm a girl, just because of my boobies and bum. I can't help it that I'm more beautiful than all the girls in the playground. You'd think my big dick and balls would be enough to make it click with him, but he..."

She clenched her fist around his tip, hard, then lightened up, alternating between soft and firm, milking the end of his tip like a sphincter. "...Just won't stop pretending that I'm a girl," she added in a mutter, her brow furrowing as she smiled venomously. He grimaced a little, but the red in his face proved she was getting through to him. Her smile grew big, bright, and friendly as she abruptly unhanded his cock, opening her hand and darting it a few inches away, leaving him safe and secure. Progress. Change the pressure, change the angle. Get him panting.

With a little chortle, she sat up properly, got into a better position to maintain her balance on her knees, and then held her breasts in either hand, her nipples peeking out between her fingers, the barbell piercing in her left nipple glinting under the moonlight. She leaned over and, with a big, open-mouth smile, opened her cleavage a little, got his shaft between her breasts, and pressed them together, delicately sealing his boiling hot rod inside her bosom. She smirked at the way he tensed and pulsated, and the way he dropped his head back down and avoided looking at the sight only had her own cock pulsating.

With a hum, she gently rocked her breasts up and down, massaging him with her cleavage, partially stroking his meat from the delicate pressure. She looked down and grinned, then noisily spat down into her own cleavage, trying to get some extra saliva on his tip. She looked up at him and said "Let's put these puppies to good use, eh? Oh, I bet it must feel amazing. It's been nigh on two years since I bothered titfucking a girl. It's not quite as common a kink, I've found." She kissed the air, blowing him a smooch before she teased him with a simple "I can feel you throbbing like crazy, little boy. You're not already gonna bust from a little tittyfucking, are you? I've barely started! Where's all that endurance? You lasted twice as long that first night, and I was blowing you like a cock-starved slut!"

He didn't say anything, of course. Stubborn mule was trying so hard to be stoic about this, but that was alright. She knew he was close to cracking. Before long, she'd have him moaning her name like a bitch in heat. Until then, he'd have to endure the sensation of her warm, unbelievably soft cleavage swallowing him up, gently stroking and sliding along his length, all while she breathed hard and gave the occasional titter at his involuntary responses. She bit her lip and watched his face as she had her way with him, watching the way he tried so hard to hold it back, to fight the sensation, to keep from showing her his lust...To keep from losing. She tightened her hold on her bust, delicately pinching her own nipples between her fingers, in the process.

She escalated her speed a little, working up a good, steady rhythm. His mouth eased open, a little, as he panted away. She grinned at the little concession of ecstasy. They didn't even have any real lube to speak of between them, besides her spit and perspiration at least, but maybe that just made it even better for him, having his cock manhandled dry by her tits. She'd have to remember that, in the future. If he liked it a little rough, she could most definitely oblige him, no question. She looked down and watched his tip with an arched eyebrow and a smile, so tantalizingly easing in and out of her cleavage, shiny from the residue of her saliva. The thing looked so tempting, so needy and aching, that she couldn't resist upping her teasing, a little.

She eased her snug breast-embrace down until she could drop her head and engulf him back inside her mouth at the same time, gently rocking her tits around his shaft as best she could. When he finally cracked and gave a husky exhale, the beginnings of a moan, her face felt hot. Yes...Let her hear she's getting you off. That's what she really wants, more than anything. That encouragement, that approval. She opened her eyes and looked upwards as best she could, noisily teasing his boiling tip with her lips and tongue. When he finally oozed his first little trickle of pre-cum, her eyelids flickered closed, and she gave a shuddering moan against the end of his dick. Her cheeks hollowed to pits as she gave a hard suck, unable to resist another few moments of indulging in his taste before finally popping her mouth off of him.

Half a second later, she let go of her breasts with a big grin, her face flushed hot as she let his cock fall from her cleavage, wildly throbbing and twitching in need. He closed his mouth and panted through his nose, making his nostrils flare. Sweat was beginning to glisten across his body, beading on his broad barrel chest, making his abs shine under the starlight. She gave a hungry chuckle and dragged the fingernails of one hand down across his stomach, remarking "No more boobs for you, young man. You're not popping just yet. Oh, no. We've got a couple more things I wanna do before either of us is cumming. You think this is easy for me, either? Hell no. But, I obviously have more patience than you, and it's starting to look like more endurance, too. Where'd all your strength go? Is letting me take charge getting you fired up?"

She started crawling forwards, again. He raised his head and watched her creep over him, her wings partially open, her tail swishing behind her, her pupils dilated to ovals...And her meat horn down below, throbbing, hard as steel, blushing to an agonizing degree, veins visibly bulging along her long shaft. His eyes shot back up to her's as she smiled and cooed "No, I'm not done with you just yet, soldier boy. I haven't said the codeword, yet. Don't forget it, now...If you do, I could just keep you here until you pass out." She gave a shiver at the idea, her smile splitting into a grin. She planted her hands together over his chest, pushing together her breasts between her arms before she winked. Compulsion filled her voice in an unnatural echo as she cooed "What's my name, tough guy?"

He opened his mouth to answer, which had her raising her eyebrows, but he simply closed them a second later, then smiled rather shakily, as if he were holding back laughter. After a moment, he finally offered "Succubus?" She narrowed her eyes and let her grin fall to a nasty smile. "Wrong," she loudly blurted out, reaching over and pinching one of his nipples. He winced, but broke down enough to give a snicker. With a disappointed sigh through her nose, she reached back behind herself, found his beanbag, and delicately took it inside her hand, gently pulling at his balls a little, easing them out from his body. Her smile slowly widened into a little grin as the contact eased his ardour a little, giving him an opportunity to slow his breathing and regain control of the reins on his own libido.

She watched his expression relax a little. Her gentle touch felt good, she knew it did, but touching him there was a different kind of good, and ignoring his prick for a little bit allowed him a chance to relax. Once he had appropriately retreated from the point of no return, she let his balls slip from her fingers, then sighed out "Now, where were we? Oh, yes..." She gave a savage grin and sat up on her knees, shimmying backwards until she was appropriately angled. He raised his head and looked at her in curiosity. The unnaturally beautiful incubus, with her buxom curves, big cock, and oversized balls, brought herself over his crotch, reached down, and pointed his prick upwards, aiming his tip towards the underside of her body. His eyes immediately widened. What about her penance?!

She gave a smug smile and reminded him "Don't you dare fucking move, Luke." He barely raised an eyebrow, his eyes flicking up to her's before dropping back down. With an exhale through her nose, she eased her hips down until she had his tip touching her taint, then sliding backwards until it pressed through just a wee bit of her cheeks, pushing through maybe an inch of over-padded seat cushioning before his tip found the most unholy spot on her demonic body. He had to grit his teeth and try not to grunt. She grinned at his reaction. He could feel her as clear as day, her little crinkle against his swollen tip, her little folds gently rubbing against him as she flexed, making her pucker gulp against his most sensitive spot.

She kept this up for a few moments before she closed her eyes and, with zero shame, gave a long, shuddering exhale, a great big smile brightening her face all the while. A little breathlessly, Luke tried to remind her for her own protection, passively inquiring "W-What about your penance?" "Don't remind me," she immediately answered, her lips twisting into an uncomfortable little grimace. She opened her eyes, looked down at him, and gave him a languid blink. The corners of her mouth rose in another little smile as she said "As long as you don't go in, I'm fine." She widened her eyes. "That's why I'm saying...Don't. Move." He gave a gentle nod of understanding. She smirked. She gently twisted her hips, keeping his cock to the underside of her body all the while, teasing him with the sensation of her little hole rubbing against his tip.

She grinned at how red his face started to get. He just stared downwards, watching the way her cock bobbed in encouragement at the stimulation going on at the back of the shop, her big balls shifting upwards inside her beanbag before relaxing back down. He dropped his head and shut his eyes, pressing his lips tight together. She narrowed an eye, trying not to cackle in triumph. When she lightly slapped his stomach, he raised his head back up, opening his eyes. The demoness leaned over him a little more. Her wings opened wide, blacking out the starlight. Her golden eyes began to glow like hot coals. Her voice echoed with compulsion as she slowly demanded "What's...My...Name?"

He pressed his lips tight together, again. He dropped his head and screwed his eyes shut tight. Her eyes went half-closed as her wings relaxed, largely closing and folding behind her. The glow faded from her eyes almost immediately. She gave a little chuckle and cooed "Well, I'll give you this, Luke: I admire your tenacity. I didn't really expect you to break quickly, and I do so enjoy the challenge. But, bear in mind, pal, that although I'm not allowed to fool around with men, and although I've pretty much only fucked ladies when I visit them, in the night..." She shrugged with her eyebrows, smirking high. "...That doesn't mean I haven't thought about it," she whispered. She winked, then tossed out "Shh, don't tell anyone. It's a secret. Heh heh..."

She angled her hips a little, pushing her crotch forwards a bit more. The move got the top of his tip pressing right against her sphincter, rather than the face of it rubbing against her. She gave an open-mouth grin, closed her eyes, and offered a steamy sigh, and when she reopened her eyes, she found his nostrils flaring, again. A bead of sweat slid down the side of her face as she shrugged with her eyebrows and rolled her hips around, grinding his tip into her clenched pucker, forcing him to endure that ultimate of teasing: the almost penetration. "Look at you," she teased, pity in her tone. "Getting all sweaty and blushing. You're breathing so hard...You wanna cum so badly, don't you? Not until I say so, tough guy. Hold back. You don't wanna cum against an incubus' boy-hole, do you? What would your order think?"

He gave a grunt, then a shudder. She puckered her lips for a moment, then gently dropped her hips, very briefly ramping up the force his tip pressed against her with before withdrawing, just letting him rub against her, again. She made a show of giving a dramatic sigh, playfully remarking "Whew, came a little closer there, didn't we? I almost broke my penance, and you almost shoved it up a demon's ass! Good God, the trouble we would've gotten into, eh? Two men, doing that? Oh dear, that's the sort of thing that got me sent to Hell - what would it do to you, mister paladin?" He opened his eyes a little, grunting out "Y-You were sent to Hell for...For...?"

Her eyes half-closed, she raised her eyebrows and smirked. "How much clearer do I need to make it," she asked, surprisingly patiently. She reached over, flicked a finger against his crucifix, and wearily remarked "Some all-loving god, huh?" "How do you even know that for certain? It can't be that simple," Luke calmly answered, his brow furrowing in confusion. "Do me a favour," she teased, her smirk growing. "Take it up with Him, the next time you see Him. Until then..." She flexed her backdoor over and over again, making her ring gulp against him, winking at his cock, primed and ready to just slide right on in and invade her ass with his divine might. With a grin, she murmured "Say my name, big guy, and I'll finally let you cum."

When he didn't answer, she finally began stroking his meat with the hand she had been holding him steady with, milking his tool with full-length strokes, jerking him off into her ass. She grinned as he opened his mouth. Breathing hard all over again, he didn't say quite what she was expecting to hear, but it was better than his last little quip. "...You won't be satisfied until...Until I say it, will you?..." "Nope," she bluntly blurted out, smiling. "Why does it matter?..." He added, momentarily turning his head to the side as he fought to maintain control. His body shifted and twitched underneath her, struggling not to go over the edge. If she looked over her shoulder, his damn toes probably would've been curling.

She felt like telling him that it didn't fucking matter why she wanted to hear it, it only mattered that she wanted to hear it, but she instead gave him a real answer. She lost her smile and, in a husky whisper, she said "I wanna hear you give in...You've been in charge all this time, some way, some how. I want a turn. Say my name. Let me hear that I'm making you feel good. I can't fucking get off until you say my name and show me I'm in charge, so just do it, already! You think you're the only one who wants to cum, right now? I've barely even touched my cock, and I can feel a load building up! Say my name and let me cum!"

"...Erika."

She grinned and tried to stifle the tremble that waved across her body. She slowed down her jerking, easing up the pressure on his cock. "What was that? I couldn't hear you."

His lips hung open as he panted. His eyes were closed. His face was getting even redder. Oh, he knew this gesture was more submissive than she had let on, but he was finally letting her have it, all the same. "Erika. Your name's Erika."

She let go of his cock, planting both hands against his stomach. She bit her lip and grinned, the blush in her face helplessly intensifying. Her nostrils flared as she panted away. Her tail dipped low behind herself, slipping underneath one of his thighs, coiling around it like a snake. "Look me in the eyes when you say it," she asked, chest beginning to heave with how hard she was breathing. He opened his eyes and complied. Looking down at her, he more firmly said "Erika." Pre-cum finally bubbled up from her cum-vein, flowing like sap down the underside of her raging hard-on. She grinned, again. She wanted to lean over and kiss his stomach, but refrained, substituting the gesture of appreciation by instead stroking her hand across his slick body. "...Good," she simply murmured.

She eased her hips back, her entire body nearly contorting in ecstasy as his boiling tip touched the backside of her beanbag. All too intentionally, she pulled her hips back further, dragging her balls past his cock, pulling him downwards until he came free and bounced back up into place. He gave a little grunt, which only had her growling needily. "Am I a succubus, or an incubus?" She asked, narrowing her eyes. He looked down at her cock, hanging precariously over his own. "You're an incubus," he quietly conceded. He watched the way a couple droplets of her pre-cum fell to the underside of his shaft, gritting his teeth when he answered in kind, oozing a clear sap from the eye of his engorged tip.

She just gazed at his face. Her dreamy expression exposed how much she was losing control of herself. Her eyes were glazed with need, need for the big man underneath herself, need for the final, virtually forbidden thing she had planned for them to do, the thing that would finally drive them both over the edge. Her next question was less a demand for dominance and more a plea to hear she had gotten through to him: "Have I been making you feel good?...Have I been treating you right?...I wanted to get you off good...Did it work?..." "It worked," he panted out, watching her eyes. She gave an excited smile, all the way from one ear to the other. "Good," she warmly whispered.

Finally, she dropped her hips. They both tensed up, needing to close their eyes. He uncontrollably curled his lip up, quietly groaning through grit teeth. Her whole body gave a quake, a high-pitched moan warbling out of her. They were finally doing it, playing that final game. She was smooshing her beanbag against his as best she could, pressing her balls against him, letting him feel the firm shapes of her reactors against his body. Her cock, meanwhile, pressed down against his, lightly pushing her underside against his, letting her boiling, aching, weeping battering ram embrace his own. She gave a gentle couple humps against his crotch, straddling him a little more intently, making them both grunt and groan as their needs were teased in unison.

"And now," she breathed, reaching down with both hands, "just so you never forget what this little demon really is, I'm gonna get you off with my cock, and you're gonna make a mess all over yourself. Got it?" He just gave a groan. She hadn't thought he'd complain, not by this point, and it was nice to get the confirmation. She delicately wrapped her hands around their two meaty claymores, pressing them together, delightfully compressing their urethras against each other. The sensation of the latex of her opera gloves against their cocks had them both shuddering. She had to fight a quake as she closed her eyes. Her backdoor was clenching uncontrollably, dying to do the unthinkable and swallow Luke's pride. But, no...She couldn't. She needed to tease herself as badly as she had teased him. That's what he may not have realized about this whole affair - she had been torturing herself even worse than she had him. She could never do what she truly wanted...She could only get the foreplay. Forever.

The space between her balls and backdoor was heavy, hot, boiling with the spunk waiting to fly forth. Her dominion over him had her loins bubbling, rewarding her corrupting thoughts, tingling her cock and balls as she came closer and closer to making the holy man cum out his morals, his self-restraint, his very purity. She would defile him, and he would always know it was Erika who had done it. Holding their cocks close in frottage, she started pumping her two fists, getting up a good rhythm as she stroked their cocks together, jerking them both off in unison. They were of similar enough size and shape for her efforts to remain pretty comfortable, and the feeling of their cocks burning against each other, throbbing with their heartbeats, had him groaning and her moaning.

Neither of them saw it, but her big beanbag began to flush red, then purple, then black, collecting up the dregs of her evil. When her eyes began to glow, they were like stars, red burning up in the gold of her irises. "Say my name." "Eri.." He opened his eyes and looked up at the demoness, her wings wide open, her tail constricting his thigh. His brow immediately furrowed, and he firmly blurted out "Erika!" She gasped in surprise when he abruptly sat up enough to reach out, grab her by the back of her neck, and pull her down over himself, shocking her when he mashed her lips to his in a deep, forceful kiss. In an instant, the glow from her eyes disappeared, taking away the red that had crept into them. Her discoloured balls lightened back up as the tainting power of her cum subsided, leaving it harmless.

She only let him kiss her for a second or two before she was pulling her face away, hacking and spitting, blurting out "Fuck, don't do that! Jesus Christ!" She sat back up over his lap, and when he saw that he had backed her off from her overt defilement attempt, he gave a faint sigh of relief. "That's off-limits, for fuck's sake," she asserted, glaring at him. He just smiled a little, which had her angrily beating their meat even more forcefully, tugging away at them hard enough to get their balls shifting against each other's. Pre-cum seeped freely from her's, while he gave another little trickle, dripping to his own stomach. In spite of her angry grimace, she was blushing red like a cherry, and she was panting away like a lecher. In seconds, it was all over.

She had to close her eyes for a bit, trying not to clench her teeth as her breathing became erratic. He breathed hard, audibly holding back a groan as he hit the end. She opened her eyes the instant she felt his throbbing pole tense up a little more than usual, and when his urethra rose and bulged against her, her mouth began to hang open. He gave a harsh groan when he started pouring, his cock flexing with every hard spurt that blew out, sneezing against his stomach. Occasionally, the lances even came out with enough force to hit his chest. Erika watched his impressive load erupt, feeling the way his balls drew up and tensed against her's, putting a sympathetic tingle in her own pair. Tears of ecstasy crept up in her eyes. Getting off with a man's cock, rather than one of her victims' pussies? This night had made her year, no, her decade.

He knew it was coming, and based on his past experiences with her, he knew she wasn't going to be small. He brought a hand over and grabbed his crucifix tight, shielding it inside his fist. Erika closed her eyes and gave pitiful little whimpers and whines as she helplessly thrust her hips forwards, humping her crotch against him, turning their double handjob harsh and rough. Finally, she hung her head back and squeaked out a high-pitched "Oh, God!" The first spurt blew across Luke's body so far that it nearly hit his chin, leaving a long white rope of jelly-thick incubus sludge across his muscular body. Erika's body tensed up and gave adorable little quakes. Her wings opened wide again, twitching.

He could feel her beanbag shifting against him as she blew load after load, the incubus breathing loud and hard as the euphoria washed over her, upping with every streamer she let fly. She kept jerking him off with her as she slimed him with her salty bitch-batter all across his stomach, his chest, and the arm he protected his crucifix pendant with, marking the bigger man as her conquest, coating him in a hot, sticky layer of her lust, showing the tall paladin just how much she appreciated him with every spurt and trickle. Eventually, however, her over-productive undercarriage settled, and the inhuman climax came to an end. Finally, with one last quiver throughout her body, she smiled with contentment and sighed a cute little "Ahh."

She opened her eyes and looked down at him, reviewing her handiwork with a widening smile. He, meanwhile, watched her all the while, his breathing having relaxed considerably. The blush slowly left their faces as she finally unhanded their cocks, but after so much build-up, neither of them were quick to soften up. She raised her eyebrows and teased "I think you're gonna need another bath, mister paladin. I did warn you my balls were hyperactive, didn't I?" She took one of their cocks in each hand, giving him a wink. She made a show of curling her lip up, then letting her mouth drop open in a smile as she squeezed them both tight, drew her fists up along their roots, and milked out the final couple beads of cum from their urethras. She gave them both a little shake, throwing off those final droplets onto his stomach.

She swallowed a pleased little chuckle, grinning a little as she dropped down to her hands, crawling on all fours until she could bring her face over his. "That was fantastic," she purred, giving him her usual smouldering bedroom eyes. He didn't say anything, and she let her eyes drop down to those succulent lips of his, then rise back up to his cyan eyes. Her grin became a big, smug smile as she cooed "Sorry about the foul play, a minute ago. I wasn't actually trying to, it just sort of happened. You understand, right? Subconscious reaction as natural as breathing. That's the trouble with fooling around with a demon, isn't it? You're walking on the razor's edge, big guy."

"...It's fine," he patiently sighed out, finally getting his breathing fully under control. She smiled sweetly. Even that didn't upset him? She closed her eyes to slits and eased herself down to an elbow, touching her forehead to his. She smiled and brought the other hand between their chins, delicately touching his lips with a finger, tracing the latex of her fingerprint across his mouth. After a few seconds, he quietly said "...You can kiss me, you know. I don't mind. I think we've already blown past that point, by now." She lost her smile for a moment, but then it came back, even stronger. "No," she mumbled. "I better not. I appreciate the thought, though, lover boy. Let's go ahead and do the smart thing of keeping that off-limits."

She closed her eyes and brought her head by his until she could touch her right eye to the side of his forehead, nuzzling him, a little. "This'll do," she cooed. He merely hummed in acknowledgement. She stayed like that for a few moments, then raised her eyebrows. Without even opening her eyes, she said "Oh, right. I almost forgot. Buttercup. Not like that stopped you from moving whenever it suited you...Cheater." He gave a faint exhale, a sigh that didn't quite make it. She could practically see the smile on his face, and it only made her respond in kind. She felt his free arm come around the small of her back, holding her petite body close.

After a minute of afterglow cuddling, she dismounted from the paladin, giving the tall man a chance to rise to his feet. Their hard-ons only slowly flagging as they collected their various discarded effects, they eventually stood close to each other after finishing up, with Erika looking up into his eyes as she reminded him "So, please...Don't forget, Luke. Just, gimme a little space for a bit, at least until this blows over a little, and then I'll visit you on my own. We'll talk this out, a bit more. You don't have to worry, I'll come around when it's time. If this doesn't cool this off, then...We'll be back to square one, but hopefully, that won't happen."

He smiled, a little. He reached up and gently held her chin with his finger and thumb, then delicately brushed the back of his finger across her cheek. "Alright," he agreed. "I'll trust you. Don't make me regret it, okay? This goes against all of my training." "I know," she murmured. "Thank you. You won't regret this." She couldn't help mirroring his warm smile as it grew. Big idiot was too good to her, sometimes. No other paladin would agree to this, not in a million years. This might've even saved her from going back to the netherworld! He turned and headed off for another dip in the creek, leaving her alone in the clearing before her cave. She gave a hard exhale, rough from the adrenaline coursing through her. The two of them had made another deal...Sort of. No magic bound them, this time. Something almost as potent would keep her to her word, however.

He was trusting her - again - and the thought of leaving him empty-handed just never occurred to her. She wasn't so much interested in aimless chats with him towards some vague end goal. She knew how she felt about God, Heaven, and all that was other in the powers that be. Hearing him talk about the immortal fate of her soul had already gotten stale. That's not why she'd see him, again. She just...Didn't want to hurt him, she supposed. Didn't want to turn her back on the faith he was showing in her, his belief that she was better than what she was. He was a sweetheart, and he deserved better than to have his trust betrayed. Her faith was already long gone, but maybe she could have some faith in him, instead. He believed in her. Why not believe in him, right back?

An unfortunately well-anticipated rustling in the trees nearby derailed her train of thought. Her brow immediately sank deep as her lips settled into a hard, flat line. She threw down her effects, then muttered "I fucking knew it." She spread her wings wide, and in a split-second, she had beaten off and taken into the air, zooming over towards the trees in the blink of an eye. A squeaking gasp rewarded her, and all of her suspicions were confirmed. She growled in fury, slashing her way through the foliage of one tree, wings beating hard as she kept herself suspended in open air. She glanced around and listened, and when she saw a dark shape scurry across the forest floor, she glided down in the blink of an eye, her bone heels biting into the dirt, forcing her to yank them back out.

"Well, well. Look who it is," she blurted out, her voice raised and mocking. The figure squeaked in terror and crawled into the pit of a nearby dead tree trunk, long collapsed and having rotted away until it was nothing but a hollow log. Erika curled her lip up and simply kicked at the wood, her latex boot easily blasting off a wide chunk of the log's topside, blowing open a hole big enough to peer into. With a big, condescending smile, she snapped "If it isn't my old pal, Benny! How ya doin', Benny? Did you enjoy the show, you little fucking perv?" A big, glowing pair of red eyes peeked out at her from inside the log. A pathetic whimper acted as the prologue to an equally pathetic excuse: "Please, don't kill me! I, I only saw a little bit! I was just on my way through to the city! Y-You know how it is, right?"

Her brow sank deep, but her smile grew even wider. "You're the one who's been keeping tabs on my every move, aren't you? You lying little sack of shit, get the fuck out here before I tear you outta there by the scruff of your scrawny goddamn neck!"

~~End of Ch. 4~~

Chapter 5: Burning Inside

Chapter Text

Incubus Erika

Part II ‑ "House of God"

By: Jesse Racine AKA Samson

Original Date Written: November 1, 2016

Benny gave another pathetic whimper as he, only slowly, crawled his way back out of the hollow log. Erika raised an eyebrow, staring daggers down at him with a lip on the verge of curling up. As soon as he was out and up on his feet, he looked up and gave a nervous smile, his voice a high-pitched whimper. "Oh, uh, w-well, whaddya know! Look who it is, my old friend Erika! Eh heh, what're the odds, r-right?" Erika gave a sneer. Same old Benny. Same old snivelling, spineless prick, willing to say and do anything to save every inch of his own worthless hide. In a low, slow mutter, she nodded and uttered "What. Are. The. Odds. A million to one, right?"

When the ordinary person thought of what a demon looked like, someone like Benny would be about as far from that mental image as anybody could get. Not everyone turned out as good as Erika, or as intimidating as Balthazar. Benny was one such luckless cretin. The poor bastard hadn't even had the good fortune of turning out like an imp - his disgusting inner nature had become his exterior, upon his reincarnation. The little brown-noser had been reincarnated more like a little monkey than anything else - an amusing hint at his earthly activities, while alive. The overgrown piece of scum was barely three feet tall, leaving the little bastard about as big as a goblin, only without the dignity to match.

His squat body was covered over in a short layer of black fur, everywhere besides his face. Like almost every demon, he had the usual horns, wings, and spaded tail, although his wings were puny, even in relative terms against the rest of his short body, and with the short, black fuzz across them, they only looked like disgustingly big bat wings. His tail wasn't much better off - unlike her's, silky smooth and red, his was coarse and black, truly an unflattering addition to his body. His face had been pushed and pulled until his features were more simian in appearance, with a wide, flat nose and protruding lips. His ape-like features looked positively ridiculous under his black sclera and glowing red irises, mismatched like they were with something that should have been intimidating.

He gave a nervous smile, shrugged his shoulders up, and looked away from her glare, stumbling over himself like an idiot. "W-Well, it was great seeing you again, Erika, but I suppose I should just-" Her sneer grew bigger. Her brow furrowing, she remarked "Boy oh boy, when was the last time I saw you, huh? Jeez, must've been, oooh..." She sucked her teeth, momentarily narrowed her eyes, and tilted her head to the side. "Must be close to twenty years, huh?" He placed his hand over his chest and gave a pained groan. "Oh, oh jeez," he remarked. "Don't remind me. The time apart was unbearable. Oh, how I've missed you, old friend!"

When he tried to hug her leg, she pulled her heel back, resisting the urge to kick him away. She started grinning as he looked up at her, trying not to wince at her as she figuratively pressed her thumb down on the prick, making him squirm. She put one fist to a hip, pointed a finger at him with the other hand, and tried not to chuckle as she remarked "Now, if memory serves me correctly, the last time I saw you, you were desperately fluffing Alexia before she had her way with that nobleman. Isn't that right?" Benny gave a wounded groan. "She can be so cruel," he ruefully remarked, giving a little shake with his head. Erika shrugged with her eyebrows, her eyes falling half-closed as she smiled from ear to ear.

He tried to inch past her, and she responded by sticking a leg over, stepping down directly in front of him. He nearly squeaked when he flinched back. "And now," she casually stated, "you're Balthazar's little pet spy, keeping an eye on his people for him, tattling on them for any little thing they do that might be iffy." Pouting out her lips in a little smile, she leaned over towards him, both fists to her hips. He cringed away from her as she cooed "What a step up in the world, Benny! You're really going places!" He put on a smile, his eyes closing. "Oh, thank you, my friend," he remarked, not at all sarcastically. "Your validation makes it all worthwhile. I'm so much prouder of myself, with your support."

He tried to bolt past her leg. She raised her foot and slammed it back down, making him yowl as she stomped on his tail. She grabbed him by the scruff of his neck, lifted her boot enough to pull his tail out from underneath, and raised him right off of his feet, suspending him in open air in front of herself. A nervous sweat had broken out across his body, and he was breathing heavy from her rough treatment of his poor, little tail. Still smiling from ear to ear, she stared him in the eyes, her brow furrowed deep. Her eyes a little wide, she nonchalantly asked "Do you have any idea how much trouble you've caused for me, you little dick-wrinkle? Tell me you got something good out of it, at least. Might take the sting off, a little."

"Oh, you know," he panted out, his eyes darting back and forth between her's and anywhere else. He gave as well of a shrug as he could, what with her holding him up by the back of his neck like he were a kitten. "Nothing that fantastic, my friend. Balthazar might look the other way, the next time I do something extracurricular. M-Maybe a night or two with Sapphire. Honestly, nothing extravagant!" Erika hummed, resisting the urge to roll her eyes. Slowly, she said "And, all you had to do in exchange waaas..." Benny cringed, whimpering out "My friend, you hurt me, implying I would ever do anything against you-"

When she twisted his scruff, he winced, held his breath for a moment, then blurted out "A-All I had to do was watch you for a little, and tell him if you did any gay stuff with the paladin! That's it, I swear!" Erika raised her eyebrows high, humming a loud "Hmm" in acknowledgement. She set him down on his feet, remarking "There, was that so hard?" "Not at all, my friend, not with your gentle disposition," Benny panted out, rubbing the back of his neck as he tilted his head around, working out the kinks she had put in. She raised an eyebrow high, tilting her head to the side as she said "And, you've been watching me pretty much ever since I met Luke, haven't you? Why, you'd almost think Balthazar expected me to do something, with him."

Benny gave her a legitimately confused look, raising one eyebrow high above the other. He momentarily looked off to the side without turning his head, remarking "Ehh...I guess?" He gave a nervous smile, adding in a quick "I don't ask questions, I just do what I'm told, right? I'm not looking for trouble, I just-" "Oh, nooo, no trouble at all," Erika interrupted, grinning. "No, you just make trouble for other people, don't you? Anything to get a little extra sugar, right, Benny?"

"You know me so well, my friend," Benny offered with a smile, his voice a nasally whine. Erika leaned over towards him, a little. Eyes half-closed and smouldering, she gave a disarming smile as she crossed her right arm across her stomach. Her left elbow to her right wrist, she raised her arm and rested her hand against her cheek, one finger raised by her tiny beauty mark. He cringed and nervously scratched at the side of his neck, trying to avert his eyes from the fleshy places that were hanging out. His eyes shot up to her's as she, in a casual coo, said "Ohh, yeah, I getcha, Benny. You know what I like to do for some extra fun? You know how I pass the time, ol' buddy, ol' pal-o-mine?"

He winced so hard that his eyes were slits. He tried to take a step back, but she just reached out and grabbed him by one of his tiny horns. His breathing sped up in sheer anticipation of the injury he could see on the horizon. Clearly hesitantly, he whined "W...What do you do, my friend?" "Oh, you know, the usual," Erika cooed, smiling widely. "I screw all those naughty little girls who get off on tits with cocks, and you'd be amazed how many of them have fantasies like that, by the way, and occasionally, I deal with the odd paladin who comes after me, just like I'm dealing with Luke."

"Ohh, you live a packed life, I envy you," Benny whimpered, grimacing anxiously. Erika shrugged with her eyebrows, humming an "Mmm" by way of agreement. She gave his horn a shake, roughly jittering his head around before remarking "Now, you think you saw me fooling around with Luke, tonight. You thought you saw me sucking his cock, sitting on his face, the whole shebang." She raised her eyebrows, coyly uttering "You thought." He cocked up his cheekbones in another grimace, whimpering "...I thought wrong, didn't I?" "You thought wrong," she agreed with a big nod, smiling from ear to ear.

She dropped her hand from the side of her face, held it up in front of him, and gave a brief flex with her fingers, extending her nails into claws. As soon as he saw the razors come out to play, he started whimpering, feebly trying to pull back from her. With his skull locked to her hand via horn, he wasn't going anywhere. "P-Please, my friend, oh God, don't hurt me, I swear-" "No, what I actually did with Luke," Erika remarked, giving her claws a rattling together, "was fight him, and he ran away when I started kicking his ass. He left. He's not here, anymore. Isn't that right, Benny?"

He reached up and feebly tried pulling her hand off of his horn. She obliged and let go, but when he turned around to beat feet and get gone like a ghost, she just swiped her hand out with inhuman speed, snatching his tail in a death grip. She grinned and gave a chuckle as he dropped to all fours and clawed at the dirt with both hands and feet, trying to scramble away like the sad little animal he was. She arched her eyebrows and repeated "Isn't that right, Benny?" "Y-Yeah, okay, anything you say, just don't hurt me!" He begged, whimpering. Erika hummed, letting an inch of his tail slide through her fist before gripping again, making it go taut.

With a dramatic sigh, she looked up and off into the distance, smiling dreamily as she gave another rattle with her claws. "No, when I'm not fucking repressed girls with unusual horizons and teasing hunky paladins with the same, I'm getting my jollies elsewhere. I'm having an even more hot-blooded kind of fun, you know what I mean? The kind of stuff that gets me pumped and breathless."

He desperately clawed at the ground, squeaking "Please, don't hurt me, I promise-"

"No, when I can afford it," Erika slowly said, "I find cowardly little shits who make trouble for people, and I do the world a favour by getting rid of them! I rid the world of vermin, vermin kinda like you! Hey, I hear the weather's great in the netherworld, this time of year. Wanna be a tourist, Benny?"

When all he could do was whimper, she growled. She yanked him up by the tail, hanging him upside-down in front of herself, bringing his eyes level with her's. Not only was she furiously snarling, but her glowing eyes were as wide as saucers. Her voice steadily rising into a shout, she held her claws at the ready and demanded "Am I making myself clear, Benny? Am I making myself fucking clear?!"

"Yes! Oh, God! Mercy!"

"If you tell Balthazar just one more fuckin' thing about me and Luke, I swear to God, I will cut you into so many tiny fuckin' pieces, you'll show up in Hell like bacon bits! I will gut you like a fuckin' pig, you miserable shit-disturber! Leave the two of us alone!"

His eyes were wide like saucers. He squirmed and struggled, beginning to tear up in terror as he bellowed "Oh, fuck!! Don't fuckin' kill me! I swear, I won't say anything! I won't spy on you, anymore! Just don't fuckin' kill me, Erika!"

The glow from her eyes faded. Her claws receded into fingernails. "Oh, turn off the waterworks, you big baby," she chided. Curling her lip, she twisted the knife, adding "Try to have a little dignity, for once in your sad little life." He could only bring himself to nod vigorously. After a moment of glaring at him, she put on a big, friendly smile. She briefly closed her eyes as she cooed "So, great! Glad we could come to an understanding. You were always such a great pal, Benny. I always took you for granted, but from now on, I won't ever stop appreciating you for what you are. I'm happy we could work out this little spat."

Benny sniffled, gently trying to kick her hand off of his tail. With a shrug and a nervous chuckle, he remarked "W-What're friends for, right?" "You got that right," Erika flatly remarked. He squealed as she swung him over, spinning him through open air, turning him right-side up before grabbing him by the scruff of his neck. With a wink, she said "Let's do this again in another twenty years." She grabbed him with both hands, turned to the side, and readied a leg.

"See ya later, Benny," she playfully chirped. He audibly gulped.

She drop-kicked him straight to his furry little ass, making him squeal as he spun around through the air. Eventually, he got his little wings working, and he soared away as best as he could, swaying through the air like a drunken bat. She muttered a couple cusses to herself as she shook her head. To think, all of the pressure from Balthazar had been caused solely by that little chimp. Maybe now, things would calm down, a little? Only a bit of time would tell.

To that end, Erika and Luke cut back on their visiting time. Luke honoured Erika's request and no longer came to see her outside her lair, every night. In exchange, Erika went and visited him at his camp every other night, spending a couple hours with him at a time before leaving for her nightly meals. Atypically for the two of them, several of these visits did not, in fact, end in sex, although Erika couldn't help coercing a favour out of Luke, here and there. When Balthazar failed to contact her at any point early on, Erika wasn't sure if she should've been nervous or relieved.

On the night of her first visit, Luke offered her a rosary. She loudly rejected it. On the night of her second visit, he offered it again. Her attitude on the issue hadn't changed, but she did venture to ask why he was so dogged to give it to her. He mentioned that he had made the rosary, himself, back during his time in the church, and that he thought she might like to have it. After all, she had been one of the faithful, during life - wouldn't she find it comforting? She flatly rejected the idea. On the night of her third visit, he offered it one last time, and in spite of herself, Erika took it, if only to make him happy. When he just gave her a warm smile, she almost threw the rosary back in his face. Instead, she took out her frustration in a harsh handjob, but he didn't seem to mind. Little wonder.

On the night that was to be her fourth visit, eight days after her confrontation with Benny, a shifting in the winds brought potential calamity down on Erika's head. The night started innocuously enough, with her drawn to yet another perverted little girl with perverted little fantasies about women's bodies and things that ought not be attached to them. On her way over to said girl's window, however, she realized that her target had woken up - same old, same old. Another do-gooder with wings, trying to save the mortal by giving them the chance to fight back, providing them with their precious free will, hoping beyond hope they'd make the choice to turn Erika back. It all made her grin.

As usual, she had a little fun with her target, something to get a giggle. Winging down into the city's middle-class residential district, she came down into the unassuming backyard, facing the window set in the rear wall. She could already see her impending victim sitting up in bed, curiously peering over at her through the glass. Erika tried not to chuckle as she shifted herself through the ether, slowly passing through space, bit by bit, right in front of the girl's window. It wasn't exactly a cheap parlour trick, but it was still fun how seeing pieces of her materialize out of thin air so terribly spooked her victims.

First to appear were her eyes, then her grin, floating disembodied in open air in front of the window, like some phantasmagoric Cheshire taunt. When her body appeared, she could hear her victim give a short cry of terror. The girl bolted out of bed and ran over, clearly hoping to lock the window before Erika could come inside. She simply wasn't fast enough. Erika had the window open in an instant, leaping up over the windowsill in a deft hop, landing on all fours in a squat. With a grin and a chortle, she dropped down inside the room, her bone heels tapping the wooden floor.

Her victim just stumbled back with a gasp, collapsing back onto the foot of her bed. Erika gave a long, low hum as she exhaled, sighing out the intrigued noise. Her eyes slowly shifted around the bedroom. Quaint little space. Usual trappings of a middle-of-the-road girl, with an affordable bed, an affordable desk and chair, a cabinet filled with children's toys she had outgrown yet clearly never seen the need to be rid of, and a full-body mirror for all her vanity needs. Nothing too crazy. Fucking this girl would be like fucking the girl-next-door, the sweetheart too innocent to put out. Well...Too innocent to put out for anything that didn't have the best of both worlds, at least. Some people have funny standards, like that. Won't settle for anything but the top one percent, as if they actually deserved it.

Erika grinned. She slowly sashayed her way closer towards the girl, watching the way she scrambled back onto her bed, practically kicking out the sheets with how hard she scrabbled for distance, for safety. In spite of her apprehension, however, Erika could see the girl's eyes roaming up and down her body, uncontrollably drinking in every detail. Erika was wearing the same outfit she had worn the night she had first met Luke: that black, cropped, sleeveless fishnet top that showed off her big bust, her black latex miniskirt with the red leather belt, and the two black fishnet stockings, kept up with openly visible garter belt straps. Of course, the all-important leather collar circled her neck, but now...A rosary was tied off, around her left wrist. Something new, something ironic.

Erika gently clicked her tongue at the girl, slowly shaking her head. Raising her eyebrows, she brought up a hand, chastisingly wagging her finger at the girl. "Ah ah ah," she cooed. "You already know why I'm here, don't you? Play nice, now. Play nice, and I'll do the same." The girl was already sweating with panic. Erika cocked out a hip and held it, lightly tilting her head to the side. A little smile on her face, she raised her free hand and slowly trailed a fingertip across the edge of her lower lip, openly looking the girl up and down. She was a fetching little thing...A bit petite, somewhere around Erika's height, in fact. Her baby doll was a sweet, innocent pink, faded and opaque for modesty's sake. She had shoulder-length brown hair, straight and satiny, and a most certainly cute face. Those lips of her's were nice and plump...

Erika started to grin, showing off her fangs. When the girl hurriedly reached over to her bedside table, Erika just watched her hands, not in the least bit concerned. The girl grabbed a pair of spectacles as well as a surprisingly large kitchen knife, sticking on her glasses before holding the blade out in front of herself. Her nostrils flared with how hard she was breathing as she threateningly pointed the tip in Erika's direction. Her voice raised nearly to a shout, she hesitantly declared "G-Get away from me, demon! I won't be another of your victims! Not me!" Erika's grin fell to a wide, smug smile. She gave a sigh as she turned her head to the side, making a show of flipping her hand through her bloody red hair.

Condescension oozed from every word as she said "Oh, my. That's a rather large knife, you have there. Whatever shall I do to defend myself against such an impenetrable defence?" Looking back over into the girl's eyes, she grinned again, watching the way a fat bead of sweat collected on the girl's forehead and trickled down between her eyes. Briefly arching her eyebrows, Erika remarked "Oh, I know. Maybe I'll just do..." Her eyes widened, and her irises glowed like hot coals, radiating an unearthly golden glow against the white-hot backdrop of her pale, beautiful face. Her voice an echo, she simply finished her thought, uttering "...This."

The girl's face lost all expression, going slack. The knife fell from her hand. Erika gave a coy hum, her eyes following the knife as it fell. She sucked her teeth as she started climbing onto the bed, swatting aside the knife until it clattered against the floor. "Oh, and what a strong start, too. Too bad," she teased, winking. "A fiery girl like you deserves some special treatment. What's your name, sweetheart?" The girl's eyes, now glassy, watched Erika's in a daze, transfixed by the glow emitted by them. In a dreamy mumble, she stated one simple word: "Brianna."

Erika lightly raised her eyebrows, her eyes easing down to smouldering slits. "Well, Brianna," she cooed, crawling on all fours right up to the girl, nearly entering kissing distance. "I'm Erika, your new best friend. I'm here to make you a deal: you give me my meal, and I'll give you the best sex of your life. You scratch my back, I scratch your's. Sound fair? Of course it does." Brianna dumbly nodded, drool beginning to drip down her lower lip, collecting on her chin. Erika dropped one eyebrow, holding the other high. A smirking grin on her face, she raised her hand up, priming her thumb over the girl's forehead, her painted black nail like a dark chip against the girl's fair skin. Time to dive in.

"Now, just stay still, you," she instructed. "Let's see what kind of nasty little secrets you've got, locked up in there. I've got a good feeling, about you. Don't disappoint me." As soon as she touched the girl, her victim gasped, her eyes screwing shut. Her libido erupted open and gushed into Erika's mind, sending her flying up into the stars, the sensation cascading across her so intensely that she flew from her body on the wild rush. It all came out, every naughty little thought, every dirty little fantasy she had ever had, ever clung to in the dark of night. Everything she would rather die than admit, everything shameful and humiliating, it all came exposed and laid bare, made clear to face Erika's judgement.

Girls. Blondes. Kissing with tongues in the rain. Thick pubic hair creeping out over wet panties. Submissiveness. Girls who don't take no for an answer. Fighting back and being overpowered. Giving in to the rape. Big cocks with raw scents. Getting fingered through her underwear. Big boobs pressing into her face as she gets taken. Sucking a big, girly dick until the lady moans and blows in her mouth. Having anal sex surprised onto her. Sucking the cock clean, afterwards. Having a little sister with a tiny cock and big balls. Pampering her sister with blowjobs, every morning. Making her sister experiment with ass-play. Getting her sister addicted to anal until she's a consummate butt-slut for all the neighbourhood girls.

Erika grinned as she tented up her miniskirt. The incest angle made her click her tongue and wag a finger. "Naughty, naughty," she cooed. "I meet a lot of bad girls, but you have got some particularly dirty thoughts." Her eyes widened, and when she pushed Brianna's libido back into her, she forced visions of sex to dance before her eyes, exposing her senses to all her darkest fantasies in overload-inducing levels of input. Seeing this imaginary little sister of her's getting reamed out was the cherry on top that imploded Brianna's defences. The girl's face immediately screwed up tight as she held her breath, her face flushing red. She whimpered and crushed her thighs together, balling her hands into fists at her sides.

Erika took her by the jaw, smiling. Just another victim. Just another meal. Just another regular night. With a kiss, it was sealed.

She left Brianna a pale, sweating mess, her breathing laboured as she tried to recover from the unholy draining her life force had endured. Her mouth was smudged with pink lipstick. Naked, her legs wide open, she was a wet, milky mess right where it counted, proof of Hell's influence having visited her. Just as Erika was climbing back out through the bedroom window, she heard the bedroom door creak open. Sitting on the windowsill, she smiled and looked over her shoulder, eyes half-closed, eyebrow arching. A lanky man stood in the doorway, stubble on his face, spectacles on his nose. He was armed with nothing more than a pair of boxer shorts and a thick wooden club, a length of cord wrapped around one end to make a handle.

Erika's smile turned into a big smirk. "Little late, papa bear," she teased. "Better luck next time. Friendly piece of advice: don't have another kid." The man went wide-eyed, trembling with rage as he came to grips with the awful reality staring him the face: the recent plague of demons had finally reached his precious daughter. He raced for the window, reaching out to snatch Erika's tail. With a laugh, she hopped off the windowsill, ran a couple feet away from the window, and leapt up, beating her wings until she soared off into the sky. Too slow, chump. Gonna have to do better than that if you wanna catch this incubus.

She got in another meal before heading for home. Instead of landing in the clearing outside her lair, however, she went a little further, roaming over the forest until she spotted the glow of Luke's bonfire, flickering between the trees. A smile on her face, she descended, gently landing on her feet not far from his training dummy. Her eyes shifted around. Bonfire was going, but nobody was home, from the looks of things. She held her hips and gave such a deep exhale, her shoulders slumped. Now, where had he gotten to? She stepped a little deeper into the campsite, eyeing the training dummy as she walked past it.

The thing still hadn't been touched, from the looks of things. She momentarily narrowed her eyes. Strange for a paladin not to keep his skills sharp, even if he intended on saving her, not killing her. She turned her head when she heard his tent rustle, spying him push aside the heavy fabric flaps acting as the door. She smirked when she saw him, holding her hips as her eyes ran up and down his body. Tonight, he was dressed in an ash gray wool sweater, embroidered across the chest in a thick, jagged band of black. To accompany it, he had on a plain blue pair of denim hosen, while on his feet, he had his low-class hiking boots. The damn things were as much a staple of his wardrobe as her collar was for her's.

"Well, there he is," she cooed, cocking out a hip. Raising her eyebrows, she teased "My better half. What're you up to?" He smiled, rather widely, she might've added. He never stopped walking, approaching her as he remarked "A whole lot of nothing, you know that. You're still the sole focus of my attention. It's good to see you." She almost flinched when he came right up to her and, without warning, slipped his arms around her, hugging the petite incubus close to his chest. One arm went over a wing until his hand could rest over her spine, while the other hand went to the back of her head, gently petting her silky hair.

Her tail shot up like a startled feline's. Her face just went a little blank as she was forced to nuzzle into his sweater. With the size difference between them, her breasts pressed into his stomach, and all she could do for multiple somewhat awkward seconds was let her arms limply hang by her sides. Eventually, she gave a couple rapid blinks, raised her hands, and patted his hips. Shifting her head to the side just enough that she could speak without mumbling against his sweater, she remarked "Oh. Okay, then. A hug. Sure. So, we're doing the hugging thing, now? That's a new one. I guess that's fine, as long as we don't..."

He slid his hand up her head until he could hook a thumb around the base of one of her horns, holding her steady. Then, he was leaning over, and those lips of his gave a smooch to the top of her head. She nearly flinched, continuing her train of thought in a mumble. "...Kiss. Great." He gave a soft, humming chuckle. Warmth bloomed through her chest and stomach as his body heat travelled through his sweater, a sensation she stubbornly refused to admit might've been exacerbated by his stroking of her hair. She lamely patted his hips until he started to let go of her, at which point she looked up at him.

She might've ended up throwing out an insult to cover up for her own sheepishness if he hadn't distracted her, first. With a warm smile, he asked "How are you, tonight?" She started to smile, her brow lightly knitting. "Oh, I'm just peachy," she seamlessly quipped. "Got in a couple meals, including one girl who was so spooked she pulled a knife on me, which, as usual, counted for zilch. Her daddy came into the room just as I was leaving, and the tough guy probably would've tried bashing my head in if he had been fast enough to catch me. They never are, though. All in all, pretty ordinary night."

He started to give her a somewhat disappointed look, his eyebrows lightly arching as those succulent lips of his settled in a small, pursed frown. To her surprise, the look instantly had the pit of her stomach feeling cold and empty, but she staunchly refused to show it, to let him see he had any sway over her. Instead, she smiled, winked, and raised a hand, patting him over the midsection. "Oh, cheer up," she teased. One eye narrowed, she barely shook her head, lips pouting in a mischievous smile. "She didn't mean anything, to me. You're the only man in my life, Luke. Besides, you did ask me how my night's gone."

He gave a little sigh, only slowly beginning to smile, again. "...Well, I suppose I did," he patiently agreed. He took a couple steps backwards, then turned to the side, holding out an arm in the direction of his cooking pot. Lightly raising an eyebrow, he offered "I was just about to sit down and have some dinner. Would you like some?" She gave a surprisingly lighthearted sigh. A small smile on her face, she remarked "How many times do I need to tell you? I don't eat mortal foods, there's no point." He smiled wider. "Oh, one day, you'll change your mind and try my cooking. There's no harm in asking until then," he passively remarked.

She furrowed her brow, but smiled from ear to ear. He better watch it, otherwise she might just dig her heels in, out of spite. She idly followed him as he walked over and prepared himself a bowl of stew, listening to him make small talk, all the while. All it did was make her raise an eyebrow. Small talk, like that, only meant he had something on his mind, something poor mister paladin felt was a big deal. She subtly pulled a face. Not much she could do in that case, other than wait for him to come out with it. When he sat down in one of his two bonfire chairs, she developed an impish smirk. After his little surprise hug, why not spring something on him, in exchange?

Without warning, she swept over in front of his chair, sitting down in his lap rather suddenly, twisting to the side until she could throw her legs over one of his armrests. To his credit, he looked a little surprised, but he didn't even flinch. He simply raised his eyebrows, holding his bowl of stew as steady as a surgeon. She made a show of a contented sigh, smiling with a wink as she ruffled a hand through her hair and crossed one leg over the other. When he didn't protest, she nearly grinned. He held his bowl near her lap as he raised a steaming hunk of meat with his fork, and as he blew the steam off of it, his eyes froze on her wrist. He started to smile wider and wider, his eyes relaxing until they were half-closed.

"You know, you're kind of supposed to wear that around your neck," he placidly pointed out. Erika instantly blurted out a stubborn "Don't complain, you should be glad I'm even wearing it at all." "I am," he innocently mumbled, biting his piece of meat off of his fork. He set the fork down inside the bowl, then reached out for her wrist. She didn't stop him as he brought her arm between them, over her lap. He gently passed his thumb across the dark brown, almond-shaped beads of the rosary, each separated by a tiny metal ring. At one end, there hung a small metal oval, with a cross on one side and a tiny engraving of the Virgin Mary, on the other.

He gave a faint sigh through his nose, his eyes far-off and distant as his thumb passed back and forth across the beads. She didn't let the silence simmer for long. She watched him for a few moments, her expression softening until she came out and, fairly flatly, asked "What's on your mind? You're practically pouting." He didn't look her in the eyes. As he let go of her wrist, he drew in a breath, sighed it out, and idly prodded his fork around, inside his bowl. "...I've been trying to pray to God, this week," he admitted. She raised an eyebrow. "So? Don't you do that every night?" He lightly raised his eyebrows. He still wouldn't look up at her. "...I've been trying to pray to Him about you," he admitted. "For guidance."

Her brow gently knitted, one eyebrow furrowing while the other rose up. He finally glanced over into her eyes, then looked down at his stew, watching the steaming hunk of potato he had skewered on the end. "I wanted advice," he mumbled. "Answers on why you were sent to Hell. You know, how it could be allowed to happen." His brow gently furrowed. He lightly dropped his chin for a moment, then admitted "...He hasn't answered me." "Well, that doesn't really surprise me," Erika dryly remarked. Her shoulders rose as she drew in a deep breath, then slumped as she sighed it back out. She put on a little smile, then remarked "Do me a favour: let me know what He says, if He gets back to you."

One corner of his mouth briefly rose up in rueful agreement. When he did like she had and drew in a deep breath, she watched him sigh it back out, put on a small smile, and change the subject. Biting into his piece of potato, he started looking into her eyes, some more. The tall paladin got down his mouthful, then said "Well, anyway, tonight I thought we might chat about something specific. You may have noticed that, ever since we had our little fight, I haven't really been trying to talk to you about anything too personal. I've been keeping it pretty light." "I have," she slowly cooed in a somewhat singsong lilt, raising an eyebrow and smiling. "I was wondering when you'd try coaxing more theological debates out of me," she remarked.

"No, no debates tonight," he grinned, trying not to chuckle. He raised an eyebrow, glanced sidelong into her eyes, then added "But, it might be a bit personal, all the same. Just, let me know if the question crosses the line." "Oh, I will, don't you worry about nothin'," she slowly answered, watching his eyes. He looked down into his stew. His smile slowly faded as he waited a few moments, evidently trying to find the words to phrase the question right. It only made her smile. It was cute, the way he sometimes needed a second to say something. Eventually, his lips parted.

"What was it like?...Dying. Going to Hell."

Erika raised her eyebrows high, her eyes going half-closed. Her lack of surprise seemed to surprise him, in turn. Somewhat flatly, she remarked "I was wondering when this question would come up in a more serious context." "Is it too much?" He asked, watching her intently. She shook her head a little, but turned her head to the side and eyed the crackling bonfire. She gave a little shrug, then matter-of-factly said "Well, you already know I died of sickness. Red Fever, they called it. Swept through the village, one summer. Wasn't fun, I can tell you that much." She glanced back over into his eyes, smirked, and said "I was the baby of the family. I don't think anyone else caught it. It was just me. That's the silver lining, I guess."

As she looked back over into the fire, her smirk slowly faded. "...You want the gory details, or do you want the kid-friendly version?" His voice was soft as he said "...I don't think I need the sad details." She gave a nod. He didn't eat, watching her arch an eyebrow. "Well, the name gives it away, but I had a fever, obviously. Face was always red, and I was always sweating. That's not why they call it Red Fever, though. They called it Red Fever because...Well, that's a gory detail. I was so out of it by the end, I didn't even know it was happening. I just...Started sinking into my bed. Things went dark and quiet. Then, it was over."

With her eyes on the fire, she couldn't see his reaction. But, his response was quiet, low. "...I'm sorry. I had hoped it had been peaceful, to some degree. Was anyone with you, when it happened?" She lightly shook her head. "Nope," she somewhat quietly remarked. "Not a soul. I was so delirious by the end, though, it probably wouldn't have even mattered." He was quiet for several uncomfortable moments, then finally asked "...Were you scared, when it was happening? Was it painful, or...?" "Of course I was scared," she readily admitted. "I didn't know I was dying, but I knew something was wrong. I didn't realize I was done until I was already gone. As for whether or not it was painful...Well, they called it "Red Fever," man. It wasn't a tummy ache."

He didn't say anything for what felt like a long time, and eventually, it prompted her to look over at him. He was staring down into his stew, tears in his eyes. She raised her eyebrows high, her lips parting in barely a tiny crack. His jaw rolled around before he clenched it. He took in a sniff, then quietly said "I'm sorry, Erika." "What? Don't be," she said, softly. "It was nearly a hundred years ago. I'm over it. I mean, it could've been worse. Hey, c'mon, why are you crying, all of a sudden?...Chin up, mister paladin. What's up with you, tonight? Come on, put a smile on! Does it really bother you that much? I got better, didn't I?" He took another sniff, started to smile, and chuckled out "And you fight me when I say you deserved better!"

She smiled, a little. Big lunkhead. Too much heart for his own good. What was the big deal? To think he'd get so worked up over ancient history. Everyone dies. Her time had been relatively alright, considering the possible alternatives. She reached up, patted one of his cheeks, and pressed a peck to the other. Of course, she promptly changed the subject before he did like he typically did, which was take that small gesture and make something serious out of it until the mood was ruined. An eyebrow arched, her eyes smouldering slits, a small smirk on her face, she chirped "And then I literally woke up in Hell. That was fun." He swiped a finger under his eyes, getting rid of the moisture. Genuinely curious, he asked "That simple? You just...Woke up?"

She started to grin. Making a show of slowly shaking her head at him, she leaned in, a little, as she said "What, you expected something more dramatic? Would it make for a better story if I was falling through a pillar of flame, oh, descending so deep, plummeting into the unfathomable depths?" Even though he looked unimpressed at the remarks, she pushed her own joke. Throwing up a hand, she looked skyward, trying not to chuckle as she quipped "Oh, there I was, naked and coated in fire, falling ever so deep until I saw the immeasurable Hellmouth opening wide, a great behemoth of flame and horror, swallowing me down into my new home! I beheld the eternal screaming of Hell, and I couldn't stop laughing!"

"Erika," Luke chastised, raising an eyebrow at her. She grinned and gave a snicker. "Oh, where's your sense of humour," she chided back. Raising her eyebrows, she gave a nod, then said "Yes, I just woke up. That simple. I was lying on the ground, and I wasn't alone. My situation was made pretty clear to me, right off the bat. They don't waste time, down there." At that, her expression relaxed. Her brow settled, her eyes went half-closed, and her pouty lips settled in a flat line. She looked off to the side for a moment, then straight ahead at nothing in particular. "Not much more to it than that, really," she casually lied. A pang of guilt made her add "...And if there is, that's a story for another night."

He took the hint. She stuck around until he had finished his stew, then stood up from his lap, intentionally swishing her tail across his body in the process. Smiling to herself, she remarked "I guess that's a good enough chat for one night. It was fun, besides all the things we actually chatted about. See you the night after next." She could only take a couple steps away before he was asking her to wait, which simply had her smiling and spinning on a heel, turning back around to face him. Holding her hips, she teased him with a curt "What, wanna kiss goodbye, or something?"

Luke casually stood up from his chair, raising a hand and lightly scratching one fingernail across an eyebrow. Watching her eyes, he asked "Has Balthazar bothered you about me, ever since we fought?" His concern made her smile widen, but the topic still made it wither, a moment later. "No, he hasn't," she readily admitted, "and I'm hoping he never does. But, that doesn't mean we should jump to conclusions and change our arrangement. Bear in mind, Balthazar has all the time in the world. For him, eight days is the blink of an eye. Just because he hasn't said anything yet, doesn't mean we're in the clear."

He nodded. "Right, I understand," he agreed. As she took a few steps backwards, she made a show of kissing two fingerprints, then waving the fingers at him in a dainty wave goodbye. Nonchalantly, she remarked "See you later, big guy." He didn't call after her, this time. She wearily sighed once she was in the trees, closing her eyes as she ran and shook a hand through her hair. Another long night, another night full of sustenance and sex. Even had a visit with Luke for the Faith Power Hour. Couldn't complain. Time to kick back, relax, put on some fresh nail polish, and count some sheep.

Of course, it didn't quite work out that way. It wasn't long after Erika had descended into her cave lair that her portcullis was activating, coming alive with flame as a miniature tear was sundered in the limen between the two realms. Erika was quick to hurry over, sitting herself over her stool as the small window into the netherworld opened up, exposing, of course, the canine-like face of Balthazar. Similar to the last time they had spoke, he didn't seem overtly angry, right off the bat. She wasn't sure if that was a good sign, or an ill one.

"Erika. Glad I caught you."

His voice was as piercing as ever, but there was something about the coy way he spoke the words that made her skin crawl. Intentionally keeping her left hand down to prevent Luke's rosary from entering Balthazar's field of view, she raised her right and ran a finger through her bangs towards her right ear, nonchalantly answering "I'm here. I'm guessing you want an update on the paladin situation?" Balthazar was silent, for a moment. Eventually, his thin lips barely shifted in a tiny mutter.

"...The last time we spoke, I ordered you to kill the paladin. I haven't heard anything, since then. That could mean a lot of things. Yes or no question: is he dead?"

Erika waited a moment, pushing the tip of her tongue along from the back of her jaw over into her cheek. "...No," she answered, monotonously. "But, almost as good. I did fight him. I clawed the shit out of him, and it wasn't long before he turned tail and ran. I haven't seen him since." She raised her eyebrows, smirked a little, and added "Once he faced a little resistance, he got spooked. He was only a rookie, you know? I guess they can't teach balls, after all." Balthazar seemed to lean back, a little. He subtly tilted his head to the side, sightlessly staring at her from under his solid metal helmet. Erika kept her cool, but a cold sweat broke out across her back. After a few moments of unbearably awkward silence, Balthazar's lips peeled open in a canine grin.

"...I see. Well, then. Good job. You chose the clearly more intelligent path. If you expect a pat on the back for it, you're asking for a lot more than you're due."

His amicable tone of voice did nothing to settle her nerves. She made a show of furrowing her brow a little, her smirk widening into a smile. "I wasn't expecting to get sucked off for choosing not to go back down there," she remarked. "I wanted to try corrupting him so that He would lose another soldier in His little flock, that's all. Breaking somebody's faith is a hell of a lot more fun than just killing them. It's over too quickly, and all they do is go up there. But, if push comes to shove, getting rid of him is more important than seeing him in Hell."

"But you didn't kill him," Balthazar coolly pointed out. "You only...Scared him off. And paladins always come back. Right?"

Erika raised an eyebrow. Without realizing it, she made the somewhat uncomfortable body language of barely shaking her head, raising a hand and gently pinching her lower lip. "Uh...Yeah, that's true, but I scared this guy pretty hard. I mean, when I said I'd peel his dick like a banana, he just about wet himself. He might come back, and he might come back with friends, but...Probably not. It's been eight days. Fleeing from a demon is disgraceful, for paladins. He'd probably rather pretend he killed me than face charges of cowardice. Either way, I'm not really expecting him to come back, and if he does, I'll deal with him more permanently." Balthazar slowly gave a nod, a grumbling hum reverberating in his throat.

"Right. Well, then. I suppose it's safe to say that the holy warrior is out of your life. Good. Very good, in fact."

Erika smiled a little, dropped her eyebrow as well as her hand, and said "Well, then. I'm glad we can drop that stuff and get back to the more casual business at hand. I can't exactly say I'm liking these constant reminders that I've got someone looking over my shoulder." She gave him a friendly nod upwards, put on a frown, and remarked "Here's to another century of fun. I was about to call it a night, so-"

"I was thinking that, since this paladin is no longer in your life," Balthazar idly remarked, "that you wouldn't protest if I told you that I was considering sending somebody else up there to deal with him. Call it insurance. That way, he won't be able to come back and pester you."

Erika gave a blink. She consciously caught the reaction to swallow and suppressed it. "I'm sorry, what?" Balthazar's teeth went on edge, so tight that she could practically hear them creaking. A bright red light began to appear underneath his helmet, casting the rest of his long, angular face in an intensifying blood-red hue. The portal began to simmer more violently, the flames bubbling and wavering like the surface of a boiling cauldron. He leaned in closer to the portal.

"I said," he slowly muttered in a low, warning growl, "I'm going to send somebody up there to fix your paladin problem, for you. If you scared the paladin off, you shouldn't care...And paladins always come back, once the hunt is on. What you did was a short-term fix to a long-term problem."

Erika's eyes drifted around as she gave a single noise, a syllable to an aborted word. He lightly tilted his head to the side again, giving her a somewhat cockeyed look from under his helmet. His tone was simmering now, on the verge of spiking into a shout.

"Is there an issue? Why the hesitation? I'm doing you a favour, you little prick. I told you to do a job, and you fed me excuse after excuse, and then, you only scared him off...Or, so you say. Either you're incompetent, or you're infatuated with this mindless tool. Either way, the problem is no longer your's to fix. It's somebody else's. Say thank you."

Erika gave a couple blinks in rapid succession. She lightly raised her eyebrows. He was digging his thumb into her, but she had no choice except to offer the submissive gesture. "...Thank you." He gave a nod and smiled. The red glow coming from underneath his helmet subsided, as did the violent simmering in the portal.

"Good. You're welcome. You owe me one. Sweet dreams."

The portal popped shut in an instant. Erika's right hand clenched into a trembling fist, over her lap. Her brow sank deep as her jaw locked up. She glared into the arches of the empty portcullis, boring holes into her table with her golden eyes. If she had less self-restraint, she would've smacked the thing away, or pounded her fist into the table. Instead, when she heard someone in clanging armour hurrying down into her lair, she just bared her teeth, already intent on taking out her frustration against them. Whoever this dumb motherfucker was, they had just stumbled into the wrong cave. Dead meat wouldn't even begin to describe what they were in store for.

When she heard Luke call her name, it was a mild surprise, but then, she was only getting even more upset. She stood up from her stool in a rush, whirled around to face him, and barely stopped herself from barking. Wide-eyed with frustration, she snapped "What? What're you doing, down here? I never said you could come into my lair! Stop, don't even look around, just get out! Go on, we already talked, tonight! We're not doing anything more! Go!" He didn't listen to her, even as her tone became more vitriolic. Instead, he walked right up to her in the dim cave, and once he was close enough, it all registered: the worried look on his face, the new armour he was wearing, the sword sheathed at his side. He was dressed for battle...But, the look on his face told her it wasn't with her. If he had wanted to kill her, he wouldn't look so worried.

As he entered hugging distance, looking down into her eyes in the low glow of her lair's candles, he calmly stated "Erika, listen. We have a problem, and I don't want you to panic or do anything hasty. We can figure this out, and it'll be fine." She glanced back at her portcullis. No...Balthazar's agent couldn't have come up, that quickly. Even if he had, Luke wouldn't have been able to react like this, so swiftly. Whatever this was, it was something else. She looked up into his eyes, slowly calming down out of confusion. Blinking a couple times, she raised an eyebrow, idly held a hip, and asked "What? What's the issue? No promises, pal. If it's bad, I'm gonna panic."

Luke glanced over his shoulder. Erika's brow flickered down as she looked past his side. She could hear...Some kind of rumbling, in the earth. A din. Voices. Well, crap. Her eyes started to widen. Luke looked back into her eyes, raising his eyebrows as well as a hand, gesturing for her to hold on. Hastily, he explained. "I was about to turn in for the night when I saw torchlight moving through the forest. When I went and took a look, I found a mob, and they were headed right for here."

"What?" Erika blurted out, her eyes widening, her brow furrowing deeper. Again, Luke gestured at her with his hand. His voice was as smooth and calm as ever as he insisted "We can fix this, it's alright. Just keep a level head, and everything will work out alright, in the end." "The fuck do you mean, keep a level head?!" Erika snapped, raising her voice. The pounding of feet and the chorus of voices was drawing nearer, intensifying by the second. She paced off to the side, eyeing the cave exit, checking to see if firelight was closing in. He couldn't get a word in, edgewise.

She threw up her arms and nearly yelled "How in the fuck did they even find me, here?! It's not like any of them can actually follow me, I can fuckin' fly! Where did they come from?! There's no way out except for the way they're gonna fuckin' come in! What're we waiting for, we have to get out of here before they box us in!" Luke raised both hands, trying to slow her down. "Erika, please, just wait, a second-" She raised a hand, extending a claw and pointing it at him. Curling her lip up, she snapped "Are they paladins? If they're paladins, I'm..."

She glanced off to the side. The fire in her voice faded. She raised her eyebrows. Now, it was less frustration and more desperation, on her face. "...I'm kinda fucked. I'm not going back to Hell, Luke. I'm not getting exorcised." She flinched when Luke's brow lightly furrowed and he raised his voice. Firmly, he slowly ordered "I said wait. Nobody's getting exorcised. They're not paladins, Erika, they're villagers. They're from the nearby city." She looked at him, bewildered. "They've come because of what you do, every night. I don't know how they found this place, but they're here because they want revenge - and to a certain extent, they're not wrong to feel that way."

She just stared at him, for a moment. Him losing some of his patience with her more than thoroughly doused her. In something of a mumble, she protested "...But, you always said you don't mind me doing what I need to do." He gave a faint sigh. He raised his eyebrows, his tone softening considerably as he replied "I don't, because I know you need to do it to survive. But you don't expect these sons, brothers, husbands, and fathers to understand that, do you?" Erika retracted her claw. She slowly dropped her hand and held her hip. Hanging her head a little, she paced off to the side, the bone of her heels tapping against the stone floor. "...No, obviously," she begrudgingly admitted. In a hiss under her breath, she snapped "How in the fuck did they find me? I knew I should've moved lairs! It's been nearly two months, too damn long!"

"Erika, I didn't just come here to warn you," Luke resolutely offered. "I came here to help you get out of this in the best possible way. I know what you're thinking, and I'm asking you, really asking you, please, reconsider. There's a better way. It doesn't have to happen, like that." Erika stopped pacing, looked over at him, and muttered "What am I thinking, Luke?" He raised his eyebrows and confidently asserted "You're thinking you're going to have to kill them all to escape, because talking with me has already wasted enough time to let them cover the cave mouth. You won't be able to fly out without one of them skewering you on a pitchfork at the cave mouth."

He gave a nod. "You're scared of going back to Hell, even for a few minutes. You'd rather kill them all than let that happen." He dropped his eyebrows and gently shook his head. "But I'm thinking, don't do that, because if you try, you and I both know they won't stand a chance, against you. They're villagers. Ordinary men with no real means to fight a demon. They have garden tools, kitchen knives, and torches. They're outraged and feel safe in numbers, but they're still scared, and just want to avenge their loved ones. For all intents and purposes, you'd be slaughtering innocents, and I'd be honour-bound to stop you, myself, right here and now, before the massacre could even start. They aren't paladins, but I am."

She froze up, watching his eyes. He gazed back at her, a pleading look on his face. A couple seconds passed before a sting started to hit her eyes. He wasn't blustering. He wasn't trying to intimidate her. He was simply laying it all out on the line, for her. She turned her lips inwards and bit them as teardrops began to run from her eyes. She looked away, gave a sniffle, and mumbled "...Okay...You made your point. Let's not go down that road." Her reaction made him grimace a little, his lips parting as he watched her, a queer sort of shame written plain on his face. Perhaps he thought she had interpreted his words as a threat, because he murmured "I'm sorry, Erika. I didn't mean to be harsh. I should've been kinder in my wording. I just want to make sure you get out of this. Nobody has to lose their life, tonight."

"If you've got a better idea," she weakly mumbled, "I'm all ears."

He nodded. His plan may not have been much better, but it sure was something. When she had heard the mob outside her lair, the last thing she would've expected finding herself doing was simply walking straight out into the open to greet them...With Luke at her side, no less, restraining her hands together at her back. Erika's jaw was tight as the two walked out into the torchlight, her eyebrows nervously arching as the din of chatter spiked in volume, ramping up with indignation. Voices immediately filled the clearing, all men's, all furious. "There she is!" "Kill the demon!" "Fucking burn her!"

Erika anxiously pulled at Luke's hold on her wrists, but he held firm, insistently maintaining his restraining pin on her arms. The slits of Erika's pupils went tight at the crowd amassed before her lair. There must've been fifty of them. A few dozen, at least, for God's sake. True to Luke's earlier assertions, none of them appeared to be anything more than a villager, a mere lower-class city-goer. Nobody here looked rich or affluent. Almost every single one of them had a shoddy, homemade torch in their hands, little more than oil-soaked shirts wrapped around tree branches taken from the front yard. They were armed, but with little more than kitchen implements, wood cutting axes, and flimsy farmyard tools.

Equally true was the fear she could see in their eyes. None of them wanted to get close to her. None of them wanted to leave the herd and approach her, in spite of the fact that they had all ostensibly come to slay her. They were afraid, but the pack mentality was strong, and the mob subsisted on rage and indignation to a near frothing degree. The mob made the individual feel safe. As individuals, they were cowards, and would do nothing. Once the mob had gotten worked up enough to move as one, they would descend upon her and try to rip her to shreds.

She spotted Brianna's father in the mob, practically snarling. Others she could recognize from interrupted visits in recent weeks, fathers, brothers, even the occasional son, all were in the crowd, and they all wanted blood. Before they could get it, however, there was the matter of the unexpected stranger to contend with, the man dressed in legitimate armour, with a legitimate blade at his hip. One of the men near the front gestured at Luke with a sickle, ordering him aside with a caustic "Get the fuck out of here, knight, she's our's!" The rest of the crowd shouted for Erika's head, demanding Luke abandon her until they were rising up in unison, chanting "Step! A! Side! Step! A! Side!"

Luke raised his hand to try and silence the mob, but it was utterly ineffectual. Erika nervously raised an eyebrow, glancing sidelong at him. In truth, he looked like a fish out of water, like he didn't know how to follow through on his own plan. Did he really think some pitiful gesture like that was going to work? Luke glanced sidelong at her, in turn. His brow barely sank as his lips settled in a firm line. When he looked back at the crowd, so did Erika.

"Siiilence!"

Erika flinched. Luke's voice boomed throughout the clearing, startling the mob into ceasing it's chanting. She raised an eyebrow, looking over at him in surprise. It had been a while since she had seen such a firm look on his face. Last time she could remember seeing him legitimately peeved, it was that one time he had raised his voice at her, when she had continually insisted she was just another demon, naturally bad to the bone. The fact that she could pick out that one instance reminded her of the weight it carried, proved it stood out against the rest of her time, with him. She tried not to smile, but seeing him eyeing the mob, refusing to give her up...She had to admit, seeing him lose his cool in her defence was flattering.

Luke held out his free arm, pointing out a finger, sweeping it right to left across the mob. His voice more under control now that the mob had quieted, he declared "All of you, each and every one of you, your vigilante justice is utterly unnecessary. You've let hatred take your hearts, and endangered yourselves - as well as put the happiness of your loved ones at risk - by coming here, tonight." One of the older men, right near the front of the crowd, blurted out "The fuck do you think you are, you snotnosed little shit?! You wanna talk to us about "the happiness of our loved ones?" Boy, let me tell you, my wife would be a hell of a lot happier if she hadn't woken up in the middle of the night to find one of these little demon shits, lying over her!"

The rest of the crowd roared in agreement. Erika drew in a deep breath, arched an eyebrow, and sighed it back out with a steadily more apparent look of boredom on her face. Of course, her emerging blase attitude only agitated the crowd further, but Luke was quick to say "I understand where you're coming from, and you have every right to be angry, but you're all family men, husbands and brothers - I'm almost certain that none of you have any experience handling demonic entities. I, on the other hand, do, and I don't have anyone important who will be hurt by any harm that befalls me. All of you, on the other hand, do."

Luke brought his hand near his chest. "My name is Luke, a paladin of the Blessed Order, serving under the church. I can deal with the demon. The church, and God above, heard your grievances, and I was sent to handle the demonic threat. Now that I am here, I'm sorry to say that it's as simple a matter as, your dangerous vigilantism simply is not necessary." Before the mob could argue, Luke gestured his hand towards Erika, the petite, curvy demoness resisting the urge to give a smug smile at the mob. Luke matter-of-factly said "Now, as the proper authority, you can see I've taken the demoness into custody. There will be no public execution to sate anybody's unbecoming bloodlust, but rest assured, the demon will be handled. I'll be taking the succubus-"

"Incubus," Erika abruptly corrected, taking a little sniff.

Luke barely paused. "I'll be taking the succubus away-"

Erika's brow sank. "Incubus!"

A couple people in the mob glanced at each other, clearly a little befuddled over the back and forth. Luke eventually gave a subtle inwards sigh and said "I'll be taking the demon away, and purifying her as is necessary, as is just. I-" "You damned charlatan," one of the men in the mob abruptly blurted out. Brow furrowing deep, he held out his torch in Luke's direction, snapping "You're not a fuckin' paladin, no paladin would talk around getting rid of an honest-to-God demon! You're just some pissant knight she's seduced!" The rest of the mob stirred, at the idea. Their eyes glinted dangerously as grumbles of agreement had the mob mentality rising back into violent heights.

Luke furrowed his brow. Erika felt like leaning in and whispering if he had any other bright ideas before something moving swiftly caught her eyes. Something metallic glinted as it twirled through the air, whipping dangerously quickly towards Erika. Her hands flexed behind herself as a knee-jerk reaction, prompting her claws to extend, ready to swat the offending object out of the air. Instead, a bright white bar of light came bursting into life, sweeping up through the air. The heavy meat cleaver was deflected straight out of the air and cast aside, and an audible gasp ran through the crowd at the sight of the shine.

The holy glow of Luke's blade was crisper than their torchlight, more pristine, less widespread yet more potent. He eased the sword down by his side, keeping it ready in a non-threatening way. The front of the mob shrank back. Erika looked over at the divine knight-blade, then raised her eyes to Luke. His expression was stern, but steady. All he said was a firm "Return to your homes." There was a lengthy pause. Besides the crackling of their torches, not a sound filled the clearing. Slowly, the men at the front of the mob shrank back a little more, and the crowd behind them naturally followed the movement, causing more and more of the herd to recede. Erika lightly raised her eyebrows. Her lips set in a flat, unimpressed line, she retracted her claws.

Luke slowly sheathed his consecrated blade. He silently gave Erika's arms a little tug by her joined wrists, and she was quick to get the message. She began walking around him, heading towards the side of the clearing, aimed for his campsite. He walked alongside her, keeping up the appearance of having her restrained with the one hand, simply to keep the mob pacified. When a few faint grumbles and mutters began to cross the crowd behind them, the both of them tried to ignore it. When a thick, wet splashing began to fill the air, however, Erika jerked to the side, looking over her shoulder.

What she saw had her eyes widening, her mouth hanging open. The crowd was watching them, indignant, sneering and scowling, standing their ground by the cave entrance, daring the demon to come back and stop them. Four men had separated from the mob, either pair carrying a rather large cask, between them. Upon pulling off the lids, they had started upturning them into the cave mouth, pouring a crude black tar down into the passage. Erika instantly pulled her hands out of Luke's grasp. In a shout, she snapped "You motherfuckers! You-" Luke promptly spun around and threw his arm around her waist, latching on to her before she could ruin the escape he had talked them into.

The four men kicked the casks into the cave passage, and as the sound of their rolling echoed up from the mouth, two men stepped closer to the cave and tossed their torches in, instantly setting the pitch alight in an inferno. In seconds, the flames had followed the tar down into the passage, belching deeper and deeper into Erika's lair. She struggled against Luke's hold, even as he put his other arm around her. "My stuff!" "It's not worth it," Luke quietly muttered, pulling her back, forcing her to stumble with him. The mob continued to glare at Erika, although now, some of them were openly smug, overly pleased with themselves for having at least irked the demon.

Their smirks, nods, and rude gestures had her seeing red, and it was only Luke who kept her from giving in. He pulled her away from the clearing and eventually had her turning around, guiding her towards his campsite. Luke continually looked over his shoulder, ensuring nobody in the mob was attempting to trail them to his campsite. Erika, meanwhile, was too agitated to care. She simply marched along at his side, one of his arms still to her back, ensuring she followed along and didn't just spin around to race back. She muttered curses to herself all the while, her hands clenched into fists at her side as she stared daggers straight ahead, her eyes locked with rage.

It wasn't until they had returned to his campsite that he finally let her go. She threw up her hands, gave a harsh growl, and paced back and forth by the fire. At one point, she turned to one of his chairs, and for a second, he thought she might've simply kicked it over. Instead, she just gave a huff of a sigh, turned around, and dropped herself into the seat. She didn't look at him, but with a snarl, she remarked "I should've just fucking killed them." Luke lightly shook his head. Quietly, he bluntly asserted "No." Her eyes shifted in his direction. He walked past the backside of her chair. She could hear him taking off pieces of his armour as he mumbled "Killing them would've been the worst possible choice. I'm glad you didn't, Erika."

Slowly, over the span of a minute, her agitation faded until she wasn't even furrowing her brow, anymore. She quietly looked down near the ground and stared, contemplating in the silence Luke had left her in. She knew what he had meant. It hadn't merely been an issue of her settling on killing them all, even to defend herself, which would've forced Luke to stand up for them. Committing mass murder, like that, would've brought more than one paladin down on her head. She could've had half the churches in the countryside hunting for her. Nobody would've helped her out in that case, not even Balthazar. Shit, of course not Balthazar. What the fuck would he care?

Instead...On the other hand...She had had someone there to help her. He hadn't been about to let her die any more than he would've let the villagers die. She had been just as valuable as them. Her...A demon, and he had stood up for her, maybe when it had mattered most. He had stopped her from digging her own grave. The thought made her heart heavy with shame. Erika slowly started to look around, trying to spot where Luke had gotten to. She noticed him after a moment, kneeling by his shrine, hands joined and head bowed. She couldn't help but give a huff of a chuckle, smirking. Soldier boy needed to get in his praying, huh? Yeah, she supposed she could see how what had just happened might make him want a refresher with the man upstairs.

She gave him a few minutes. When he was done, he stood up from his shrine and walked on over, smiling to himself. She turned in her seat, facing him a little. He came up beside the chair, rested his hand over the head of the backrest, looked down at her from her side, and placidly asked "So, feeling better?" Her eyes went half-closed. She raised her left eyebrow, flicked a couple blinks, and fought a smile as she uttered "No. I just lost all of my stuff, genius. All of my clothes, all of my makeup, my bed..." When she trailed off, he raised his eyebrows, smiled more, and casually asserted "All of those things can be replaced. Your life can't. Well...Not easily, I would imagine."

She just gave a little sigh, through her nose. "Yeah, well," she halfheartedly mumbled, "I figured that out on my own, you know. Killing them wouldn't have been the smart move. Would've kept me alive, though. But, you were there, for that. So...Thanks for coming along and trying to help me out. I appreciate it. It was really big of you to stand up for me, to those guys. And..." She gave a little shrug, her lips beginning to purse, a little, as she added "...I'm sorry for giving you such a hard time, when you first came in. I was just...Worked up, over something. We can talk about it later. Maybe in the morning."

She gave a hard sigh, put her elbow to her armrest, and propped her chin up in her palm. Her brow furrowing, she looked off to the side, already deep in thought as she muttered "Now, I have to find a new lair. I hate short-notice moves. Once the fire dies down, I might as well check and see if anything survived." Luke raised his eyebrows. Rather readily, he suggested "Well, you could always just stay with me, in the meantime." Erika raised an eyebrow high. What? She looked over at him with a small open-mouth smile. Her eyes falling half-closed, she held back a chuckle as she asked "Are you serious? You want me to move in, with you?"

He smiled and chuckled, a little. Looking off to the side for a moment, he passively remarked "I don't know if I'd call it that. This is only a campsite, it's not a real home, or anything. And, it only has to last as long you want." She grinned and asked "Would we share the tent?" He smiled a little awkwardly, again avoiding her eyes with an arched eyebrow. His mouth hanging open a little, he simply hummed a sheepish "Uhh..." Erika's brow furrowed as a nasty grin split her face. She practically bounced in her seat with excitement. With a cold chuckle, she remarked "Oh, boy. You're just asking for trouble, aren't you? What's next, you gonna put a ring on my finger? I love it!"

He finally looked over into her eyes. Her remarks didn't trouble him, it seemed. He gave her a warm smile, casually stating "Just trying to help you out. I did sort of pressure you into losing your home, after all. It's only fair I make mine available to you. Besides, it'll make it easier for us to talk and see each other." She looked off to the side, a mischievous smile plastered across her face. Her eyes scheming slits, her puffy lips barely moved as she mumbled "Yeah, I never thought of that. That, too."

"Well," he chuckled out, "things typically do go right over your head, when you're that little."

"You son of a bi-!"

She jumped up in her chair and leapt into him, throwing her arms and legs around him in a glomp. He couldn't help but start laughing as he caught her in his arms, holding her close as he gave a little spin on his heels, catching himself before he stumbled. "I may be short," she playfully barked, "but I'm big where it counts, you little...!" "I was just teasing," he chortled out. It didn't stop her from squeezing her arms around his neck, pressing her cheek hard to his. After a few moments, she finished her earlier thought, muttering "...Fucker." She eased whatever wound the insult might've made by bringing one of her hands to the back of his head, sinking her fingers into his hair, rubbing across him.

One hand to her bum to support her, the other stroking the small of her back, he effortlessly held her up in the carry hug, holding the petite demon as if she were as light as a feather. Given how the hug lasted over a minute, neither of them were in any rush to end the impromptu cuddle. Erika closed her eyes. His body against her's made her feel so warm inside, so quivery, so...Fulfilled. God...It bit deep. The feeling put another sting in her eyes, and she didn't even know why. It hurt, but she was happy. She opened her eyes and looked off into the distance. After a moment, she mumbled "...You're too good, to me." "Don't talk like that," he quietly chastised, stroking her spine with his full hand.

She turned her head to the side and gave his cheek a peck, then nuzzled her face into his shoulder. She gave a heavy sigh through her nose, deflating against him. She squeezed a little tighter, refusing to let go. Balthazar could send anything he wanted. She'd be ready. She wasn't about to lose Luke. She'd tell him all about it, come sunrise. They'd prepare. Whatever came their way, they'd handle it. She closed her eyes, her brow furrowing with resolution.

She wasn't going to lose him.

~~End of Ch. 5~~

Chapter 6: Daylight

Chapter Text

Incubus Erika

Part II ‑ "House of God"

By: Jesse Racine AKA Samson

Original Date Written: December 27, 2016

That first night, Erika was long to sleep. She hid her unease well, playing the game she knew so skilfully, always playing the tease, the flirt. Surely, he was none the wiser. If he had had any clue, he wouldn't have been able to resist trying to reassure her. As she entered his tent for the first time, she teased if he slept naked; she always did. He preferred keeping his trunks on, of course. No big surprise there. When he took the one side of the bedding and laid on his back, she took the other on her hip, conspicuously keeping her distance, even going so far as to put her back to him.

She was sure he had noticed. For a moment, it had almost seemed like he'd ask her what was troubling her, why she suddenly seemed distant. However, he instead gave her her privacy. He probably worried he'd only come across like he was pressing her for intimacy, if he asked. She laid there for a time, feigning sleep until she was sure he had drifted off. Then, she was slipping back out of the bedding, putting her back to the tent wall, and simply watching him...Merely observing as she contemplated. She didn't want to invoke His name, but...What in God's name were the two of them doing? What the hell was she doing?

There she was, sitting in a paladin's tent, not at all inclined to cut his throat. Forget everything that had led them up to this point. She had already beaten that dead horse enough, in her mind. They were a demon and a holy man, playing games and fooling around - so what? Old hat. More important was where they stood, now. For reasons she still couldn't quite figure out, Balthazar was determined to see Luke dead...And, based on what Benny had told her, she had a sinking suspicion that Balthazar may have always known about Luke from the very start, or had at least suspected she'd be in serious danger of breaking her penance. But, why the sudden distrust? Why was he worried that Luke would be any different from all the other paladins she had dealt with?

He had already sniffed out her little game. He clearly suspected that she had been protecting Luke. Question was, why would he even care? You'd think he'd relish the opportunity to punish her. There could've been dire consequences down the road, especially if he came up with anything more concrete...Or coerced a confession out of her. For now, however, he was just testing her. By threatening to sic another demon on Luke, he had clearly been checking to see if she'd expose herself. Right now, by sitting in that tent, all signs pointed to her willingly biting the bait, hard. She quietly sighed, furrowed her brow, and covered her eyes with a hand. Again, she asked herself the pointed question: just what in the fuck was she doing?

If she helped protect Luke, if anything happened to Balthazar's pet demon, he'd know that she had to have been responsible. Even if he didn't have anything serious to pin on her, he wouldn't care. He'd come up from the netherworld and drag her back down, where she...Her fingers tightened at her temples. A black fear kept her from considering the possibility. No. Never. She was never going back there, especially not if she'd just get her power stripped. Getting her status as an incubus revoked would mean only one thing: back to the pits. She hadn't avoided them the first time around just to get herself thrown back, a hundred years later.

She stopped covering her eyes, looking back at Luke. He seemed so at peace, as he slept...He probably never even had bad dreams. Probably too sweet for them. Just looking at him gave her a sense of calm. The interior of the tent was near-black, but she could still make it out, well enough: big navy pillows at the far end, thick navy blankets stretching from one end to the other, a big bible by one pillow for some late reading, and last but certainly not least, one big paladin, contentedly asleep with the back of his head to a pillow, one arm over the blankets as they came up to his ribs. The look on his face was enough to make her smile. Those lips of his were parted just a crack, and he seemed to be so at ease...Even with a demon in his bed.

She smiled more as a dew filled her eyes. No...She just couldn't. Maybe it was selfish of her, but she couldn't just walk away and let him get murdered. She knew she was walking right into Balthazar's trap, but it just wasn't an option, abandoning Luke to his fate. No, he deserved better than that - she owed him better than that. Ever since the beginning, he had trusted her, shown faith in her, tried to show her she wasn't the monster she thought she was, and now, he had even put himself between her and a mob of people who had every damn right to want to kill her. She hadn't deserved any of it, but he always seemed to think differently. He was a good man - in her shoes, he wouldn't just abandon her.

No, she wasn't going to lose him. He was the only good thing that had been in her life in a century. Besides, assuming she did just walk away, what were the possibilities? Luke dies, a good man goes to Heaven, and she just keeps doing what she's been doing for a hundred years? Luke manages to defend himself, Balthazar thinks she was responsible regardless, and she gets condemned all over again? No...As unthinkable as it was, maybe it was time to take a stand. Balthazar had backed her into a corner. But, no matter how she tried to piece it together, this wasn't a battle she and Luke could win. There was an endless scale of escalation that would slide towards them. The harder she rocked the boat, the more shit would float down river.

If Balthazar took her...If she had her status in the sexual caste removed...An eternity awaited her. She might be able to avoid it by leaving, then and there, but she...She just couldn't. When she saw him, there...She looked away, hiding her face from a sleeping man, trying not to hang her head down. The stinging throb in her eyes was damnable. He was the best thing to happen to her in ages, and she couldn't just leave him to the wolves...But, the alternative was an eternity of horror. What kind of choice, was this? Was this another of God's little games? Let someone like Luke enter her life, then stick her with this sort of choice? Sick bastard. Twist the knife some more, why don't you. Nothing good can ever just last, can it?

She tried not to sniffle as she looked back over at Luke, hoping he wouldn't wake up and see her in that state. She ended up smiling at herself, holding back a chuckle at how shaken she was. God...To think, little more than two weeks with this one guy could throw her life into such massive disarray. There was no doubt about it: Luke may have been the nicest thing to happen to her in a lifetime, but he was also the biggest damn pain in the ass she had ever had to deal with, too. But, maybe that was alright. Maybe she didn't mind, anymore. Maybe it had been worth it. Maybe the things he had said had stuck with her.

She swept her hand through her bangs, smiling more, watching him stir in his sleep. Jeez, Luke...You keep looking cute like that, she might change her mind on the kissing ban. She slowly crawled back into the bedding, keeping her wings folded snug as she slipped under his thick, fluffy blankets. This time, she didn't play shy with the distance game. She snuggled right up to his side, gently latching onto him like he were a big body pillow, slipping an arm and a leg over him. He was warm, he was soft, he didn't shy away...And, he was all her's. He was too good for her. She didn't deserve him...But, she wanted him, all the same. He was the only one who had ever believed in her. She couldn't just very well let that candle go out, now, could she?

Erika's eyelids flickered as she drifted awake with a deep, sleepy sigh. She was so warm...Warm all over, from her slender shoulders down to the tips of her little toes. The blanket was heavy, thick, made to trap body heat. With the two of them, that made comfortable excess...Especially with the new position she found herself in. Evidently, at some point in the night, her sleeping self hadn't been content to just cuddle Luke's side like he were a body pillow. Oh, no. Her sleeping self had gotten the bright idea of mounting him squarely right over his torso like he were a big, warm mattress, all of his own. Good grief.

With her arms and legs trailing down his sides, she was plopped over him like he were a beast of burden, meant to bear her weight. The side of her face nestled against his collarbones, her impressive bust pressed snug between them against his ribs, the exceptional case of morning turgidness afflicting her poor, poor loins was sealed between their bodies, pressed up against their tummies. Of course, her hefty undercarriage was comfortably resting over his stomach, her inhumanly bloated beanbag delightfully smooshing against him like a big, fat globule of hot, silky goodness. Mm, he was nice and soft against her, slowly lifting her up and down with his breathing...

She sleepily yawned, shifting her head a little, nuzzling her cheek against him. She started to smirk as the long shape of her tail slowly eased over under the covers, dipping down between her spread legs. The spaded tip of her smooth tail found his thigh, trailed up it, and found...Oh hoh hoh! She grinned, a little. Seemed she wasn't the only one with a bad case of, to use a crass turn of phrase, logger's delight. What was it that he dreamt of, she wondered?...Anything saucy? A flash of an idea made her eyes snap open. Yes. Of course! Now was her chance! If she was quick, if she was subtle, she could finally get a peek inside his mind! She could see all his nasty little kinks and secrets if she just-

She grinned so wide, her eyes uncontrollably fell to slits. He can't shield his mind from her influence when he's asleep, right? He can block her out when he's awake, but not when he's asleep, no way! She slipped her arm up, stuck it out from under the blanket, and trailed the back of her index finger up across his cheek, ensuring she knew precisely where his forehead was. Then, with her slitted eyes beginning to emit a golden glow, she touched her thumb to his forehead, and...

Nothing happened. She frowned. What the hell?

"...Were you expecting me to be asleep?"

She raised her eyebrows and looked upwards, tilting her head back until she could look up at his chin. His hand abruptly came up and patted the backs of her thick, juicy thighs. "Nice try, though," he quietly added, a damn frustrating hint of amusement in his tone. She furrowed her brow, gave a pouting frown, and quietly started to growl with annoyance. She wanted to pull his head back and punish him by assailing his throat and jaw with kisses, but she held herself back before she made a fool of herself, or worse yet, gave him an excuse to make a big deal out of some harmless flirting. Instead, she flicked her finger against his forehead so hard, she could actually feel him wince up.

Smug with revenge, she smiled to herself, dropped her hand to his shoulder, and mumbled "How long have you been awake, for? Is the sun up?" He drew in a breath, slowly sighing his words. "A little bit, not too long. And, of course it is. It's probably at or past midday, already." She gave a little groan. Now that she was awake, he wasn't afraid to let his hands wander. She felt his left, big and strong, come to the small of her back, while the right slowly stroked up and down her thigh, his skin only gently gliding across her's. She gave a little grumble, but nonetheless simply laid there over the big man, safe under those warm blankets. The intoxicating feeling of his skin against her's kept her from ruining the moment for a good little while.

Inevitably, however, all good things come to an end. We can only hope something better replaces them, and Erika had just the thing in mind. After a while of the cuddling, she started to push herself up over him, getting on all fours until she could bring her face over his. He could only smile to himself, placidly watching the petite demon in his bed open her wings a little, giving a soft grunt as the joints popped, a little. Her hair a bit of a mess from sleep, her golden eyes heavy-lidded with fatigue, her full, pouty lips curving into a small smirk, she reached her hand over and gently curled a finger through his bangs, offering an attentive purr.

Gazing into those cyan eyes of his, she spoke gently, softly, her voice little more than a delicate coo. "Listen...There's something we really need to talk about. You know, the thing I mentioned, last night. The thing I was upset about. But, I think it can wait, a little. Right now...We both have a little problem that needs fixing." She grinned, hummed a chortle, then added "Maybe I should say "big" problem...Heh heh..." He raised his eyebrows a little, his eyes a bit surprised. She puckered up and blew a smooch at him, then began to move into position, offering a placid sigh in the process. Listen up, mister paladin: you don't share your bed with a sexy little demon unless you plan on letting her suck you off, come morning. Common sense, pal.

Erika, a self-satisfied smile stretching across her beautiful face, slid off of the bigger man, easing down to her side just next to his left. As she pulled the blankets down across his body, lowering them clear to his knees, he passively said "Erika, really, I'm okay, I don't need any...Um, "relief." Let's go with that." She grinned, not just at his sheepish refusal, but at the size of the contradictory bulge in his black trunks. She glanced over her shoulder at him, dismissively shushing him, waving off his concerns. Somewhat obediently, the big, dirty blonde paladin went quiet.

No use fighting a sex demon, friend. They always get what they want, one way or another. The best part? You just can't help but love it. Erika gave a contented sigh as she hooked her thumb under the waistband of his trunks and pulled it down under his balls, freeing up his monster of a prick to come sticking out. He tried to say something, but she just cut him off with a big, shit-eating grin, briefly glancing over her shoulder as she chastised "Shush, you be quiet, you. Don't be a tough guy. You wanna walk around all morning with a club swinging around, down here? Be a big boy and take your medicine." She ignored the tiny groan he answered with. Oh, play reluctant all you want. Who do you think you're fooling?

With a pleased hum, she settled herself into a nice, comfortable position, primed and ready to really take her time and get what she wanted out of him. Lying her ribs against his waist, she put her right elbow across him and against the bedding of his tent, just next to his right hip. With her back to him and her body blocking his line of sight, he couldn't really say he had a front-row seat to the action, but at least he could treat himself to that big, thick ass of her's, all the same. Of course, Erika had a mind to settle her own little issue at the same time as she did his, so she propped her left leg up with her foot to her other leg's knee, opening up her lap for some much-needed fun.

Without much further ado, she wrapped her right hand around the base of his weapon to hold him steady, then similarly squeezed her left around her own distended prick, ready to pet herself silly. She angled his length towards her face, opened her mouth, and promptly dunked her head in with a throaty hum, sticking enough inches into her mouth to make him tense up at that oh so sudden, oh so sweet stimulation. After a second or two, his skin barely trembled, washing away the tenseness as it went. She smiled to herself, puffy lips stretched taut like they were around his meaty claymore. That's right, holy man...Just lie back, relax, and take it.

It wasn't over quickly. She had an itch to really work him into a lather, and judging by the way she had him panting in no time, she'd say she succeeded. She kissed him all over. She suckled on the tip. She worked the shaft and played with his balls. She teased his nipples with the tip of her tail. She stroked the insides of his thighs for that extra stimulation across his skin, and of course, she made certain to get in plenty of noisy deepthroating, all while jerking herself off to the same beat as her sucking, trying to match her own progress with his. For a time, he was silent, but it wasn't long before she was coaxing out his voice.

Not long after that point did his curious little mitts begin to wander, and of course, with her ass so readily turned to face him, he went straight for it, exactly as planned. She hummed to encourage him as he explored, encouraging him to let go of his piety and give in to the oh so very evil sex. A man and a "man," doing this? Need she remind him that this was the very sort of thing that got her sent to Hell? Once he started to give in to the temptation, once he began to reciprocate and wasn't simply passive to her advances, then the true corruption could begin to take root.

The pleasure would naturally become more addictive, and of course, she would become the clear remedy for all his needs...Her, a sexy little incubus. The call of her body would tear him in the complete opposite direction of his precious church, as well as the man upstairs. He'd stop caring that his seducer was a demon, even an incubus - no, more than that, he'd enjoy it. She'd become his guilty pleasure, his dirty secret, and the rot in his heart would separate him from God. He'd cease to be a sheep, following the invisible man's herd. Instead, he'd join her...And, maybe things could be easier, between them.

Of course, that's what she told herself. It didn't actually turn out that way, for better or worse. There was no secret corruption that seeped in, that day. He didn't stop at playing with her cheeks - he wasn't satisfied with some mere squeezing, jiggling, or spanking. Oh, no. With her thighs open, he couldn't resist giving his thumb a quick suckle, bringing his hand down to the gap under her crotch, and pushing his damp thumb between her cheeks, getting his print against her startled little hole. She clenched her pillowy cheeks in a hint of surprise. He quietly asked her if that would be too much, if that would break her penance - he was still thoughtful enough to ask, even after half an hour of a hungry incubus blowing his whistle. She definitely noticed.

She came up for air just long enough to lay it on the line: regardless of whatever Balthazar tries to pressure her to do, she knows the limit of her penance, and the limit was the real homoeroticism, the holy grail of full-on dick-in-ass penetration. A thumb was fine, even if it'd make the other demons laugh the pink off her ass. However, it was just the two of them, wasn't it? Luke didn't need any more of an okay. She couldn't hold back a quiet grunt as his thick digit pushed into her with some ease, and when he found the big, muscly knot of her dense prostate, well...It wasn't just thoughts of corruption that left her mind. That thumb on her button turned her into putty in his hands, and her...Rather vocal enjoyment of it only seemed to pop his cork quicker.

When he blew, she refused to raise her head, in spite of the warning he had tried to give her. He groaned, shifted a little in the bed, and spewed in her mouth, and she was more than a little enthused to have the big bastard damn near filling her mouth, just like that first time she had tasted his meaty cock. She tortured him a little by refusing to stop bobbing her head, refusing to stop sucking even as he finished, but when he gave an urgent moan, a pang of guilt had her relenting with an amused giggle. Keeping half of his length in her mouth, she gently stroked the rest with the one hand, finally unhanding her own needy prick in order to grope his balls as he finished pouring his salty reservoirs. It took a couple gulps to get it all down; lunkhead had really needed it.

Intentionally popping her lips off of his cock as loudly as she could, she grinned and purred a chuckle, looking over at him from over her shoulder, leering at him through the corner of her eyes. The big man breathing heavy the entire time, she affected an exaggeratedly girlish voice, cooing through puckered lips as she said "Wowee, mister! You can really let it shoot, when you wanna!" She flashed him another grin, chuckled again, and resumed her normal speaking voice as she added "...Alright, thumb out. Let me switch position." "Switch position?..." Luke repeated, still catching his breath. "Mhm," she hummed, smiling from ear to ear, turning more to cast a smouldering look his way.

He complied, although the adorably lost look on his face painted a picture of a man who had no idea whatsoever what he was in for. Of course, it didn't take long for realization to dawn on him. Once she was in position, it all became clear. She got up on her knees and came over his chest, straddling him. She shuffled forward, dragging her sperm-swollen beanbag across his chest...Right up until her intentions were glaringly apparent. He went a little still as understanding crossed him: she wanted her own turn. Her painfully stiff prick jutting over his face, the side of the tip shimmery with all the pre-cum she had oozed during the blowjob, she smirked down at him through the deep cleavage of her tits, yellow eyes locked on blue.

Those pouty, cocksucking lips of her's slowly stretched back into a small grin. "Open wide, lover boy. You're not the only one who likes a mouth on his cock." She made the playful gesture of briefly tilting her head to the side, pouting out her lips. "Look at me over here," she mused aloud. "You've got me sleeping with you, sucking your dick without a deal to twist my arm - I'd never live it down, if word got around. But, that's okay, because you know what? You're worth it. You're fun to tease, you know that?" She grinned wider and chuckled. "I could go for this every morning, but you know what?...Sucking cock just gets mine...Oh, so tense, so achy!...You know how long it's been since I've had a man to play with, even a little?"

She gave a hungry chortle, grinning all the way from ear to ear, showing off her fangs. His face was starting to flush. She twisted her hips a little, massaging her big, full beanbag against his chest, waving her cock before his eyes. "With balls like mine, with a prostate like mine, why...I'd say I need to cum even more than you, in the morning. Imagine that! Lil' ol' me needs to bust a nut harder than you, the big-dick saviour." She puckered her lips in a tiny smile, dropped her chin a little, gave him puppy dog eyes, and murmured "...You think you could help me out with that, Luke? Just a little? If I just jerk off, I'm gonna make one hell of a mess in your nice tent. We wouldn't want that, would we? Spunk's gotta go somewhere."

He gulped; someone had the right idea. His face was turning from pink to red. His eyes crossed as they focused on her shaft. After a couple moments of fairly overt deliberation on his part, she dropped the teasing. Maybe she had gone a little overboard with the joking, she thought. Her voice a little more passive, she murmured only a few words: "...Don't you wanna make me your toy, right back?...You can start by just touching me, a little..." He looked back up to her eyes. She gave him a surprisingly warm smile. She could be a toy, for the right person. The right man.

Those lips of his...

Some time later, a still very naked Erika was throwing open the tent's flaps and stepping out with a big, triumphant grin on her face, giving a happy sigh as she put her hands to her hips. With a great big stretch, a yawn, and a shake of her hair, she walked herself over and plopped herself down into one of the chairs by the bonfire, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. What a fantastic morning. This was the sort of thing she had only been able to dream of for damn near a century: waking up to a suckfest. Toying with Luke, then having him toy with her right back? She could easily get used to that sort of routine.

It took lover boy an extra minute to come out, but when he did, face still a little flushed she noticed, the first thing he did was make for the stream for a morning bath. She could only grin to herself. As he was leaving, however, something sour tickled her nostrils. She looked off to the side, eyeing the direction of her lair. Her eyebrows rose as she followed the lingering plume of smoke filling the sky, just ahead. Her jaw tightened. Should've figured on that. Who knew how far the smell of smoke had travelled, not to mention the gray beacon in the sky. Could've led who knew what right into their neck of the woods. Luke needed that warning, pronto.

Of course, once he had returned, he was back to a more ordinary demeanor, she was pleased to note. Clearly, he wasn't that bothered by how their morning had gone, even with the afterglow worn off. And, of course, now that he was back and the mutual servicing was out of the way, it was time for their morning to get to the legitimately important bit: the rather serious talk they needed to have about the trap Balthazar had set for her, and how Luke unfortunately was now playing the unenviable role of bait.

She let him set about preparing himself some breakfast, but once that was out of the way, she let him take her seat, then nestled herself into the bigger man's lap for a proper tete-a-tete. "Luke, there's something pretty serious I need to fill you in on," she started off, looking into his eyes. Sitting sideways over his lap, her back to one armrest with her legs hanging over the other, she looked over into his eyes with a stony enough look on her face that he was well aware that this wasn't one of her games. One hand over her lap, absentmindedly stroking up and down her smooth thighs, he answered her attentive look with one of his own.

"Right," he said. "This thing that bothered you so much, yesterday. Well...If you're ready to talk about it, then I'm ready to listen." He looked down, and his eyes found the rosary she had left tied around her wrist. His voice going a little more soft, he added "I don't know how much help I can be, but whatever had you worked up, it might help just to have an ear. I'm here for you." She started to smile. Big idiot. She had to look around and blink a couple times, and uncontrollably, she overcompensated by letting her tone sound a little more dismissive than she would've actually wanted. "Yeah, well, ready or not, I need to tell you this, anyway," she remarked.

"It's about Balthazar," she added, her tone steadily growing more serious. Her brow furrowed as her eyes dropped to his chest. "...He's on to us," she quietly muttered, her teeth lightly going on edge. "He's playing this different from what I would've expected. I still can't figure out what his whole deal is." Luke gave her a subtly perplexed look. It was all the prompting she needed to give a hurried sigh. "Here's what happened," she remarked, looking back into his eyes. For a moment, she hesitated. She had no idea why it had taken her so long, but it abruptly struck her: this was the first time she had seen him in the light.

This was the first time they had seen each other, during the day. In fact, now that she thought about it, this was the first time she had bothered going outside during the day in...Jeez, must be close to eighty years. It hadn't taken her all that long to realize that the things she needed to do were best done at night. But now, he had...Kind of coaxed her into unwittingly breaking that streak. Funny. You'd think that seeing someone under sunlight would be one of those intrinsic things that you could never forget, like colour or scent. But, it had been so long since she had really seen somebody under that bright light in the sky, she couldn't help but look, for a moment.

He eventually arched his eyebrow a little, which got her knocking off her likely odd-seeming staring. She blinked, glanced off to the side, and said "Look, I'll cut to the chase. I don't know how much time we have before things get messy. Balthazar finally got around to getting in touch with me, last night. I fed him my story about scaring you off, and he seemed to buy it...At first." She looked back over into his eyes, furrowing her brow deep. Her voice lowering, she added "Then, he suggested sending another demon up to get rid of you for me, and I guess I didn't play it off as well as I could've. It's pretty obvious that he's on to me."

Luke's brow barely twitched downwards. His jaw tightened, a little. Erika's teeth went on edge, for a few seconds. She drew in a curt breath, exhaled, and remarked "I can't figure him out. Playing these sorts of games isn't like him, at all. First of all, it's weird for him to be making such a big deal out of you, but more importantly than that, if he even suspected that I had broken my penance, he'd be coming right up from Hell, himself, and dragging me back down, alongside him. If he had even a whiff of the idea that I was going too far, he wouldn't fuck around, he'd just condemn me, again."

Looking into his eyes with genuine confusion creeping up on her face, she mused aloud "So, why the bullshit? Why the runaround? I mean, I guess the scare tactics weren't working, but neither is this, really." Luke's eyes went back down to the rosary around her wrist, the only thing she was even wearing, besides her collar. As he started to pass his thumb across the beads, she kept watching his face, quietly adding "...So, I don't know when it's going to happen, but we can expect an uninvited guest, at some point. You might wanna prepare. Just...Stay ready. I have no idea what we can expect, but whatever it's gonna be, it's gonna wanna kill you. If it sees me with you, it's probably gonna try to kill me, too."

Luke kept staring at the rosary. After a few moments of silence, he finally answered her, saying "...And, if the demon doesn't come back successful, Balthazar will know you helped me, or at least warned me. He'll strip you of Hell's authority. You'll go back to being a punished soul." A little evasively, Erika mumbled "...Something like that, yeah. Not like the alternative is all that better." He didn't answer her for a few moments, and eventually, Erika casually offered "You know, in case it isn't clear, I'm not planning on ditching you to this thing. Balthazar can send the biggest, meanest thing he wants. I'm not just gonna run away and leave you to...Whatever he has planned."

Luke's eyes swiftly rose to her's. She watched his brow knit, a little. "...You know I can't ask you to do that," he quietly answered. She gave a little smile, one corner of her mouth wavering. "Well, good, then," she faintly insisted. "Because, I'm not giving you the chance to. I'm just doing it." His brow relaxed, but his expression didn't otherwise change much. "Erika, I appreciate that, but with these kinds of stakes..." He tilted his head forward a little, looking down at the rosary around her wrist. He blinked, his eyes shifting off to the side. He waited a moment, his mouth hanging open just a crack. "...I came here to try and redeem you, to show you that your soul isn't lost, yet. I can't ask you to endanger it even more, it just defeats the whole purpose."

She raised her eyebrows, a little. "Like I said," she patiently replied, "there isn't even a guarantee that Balthazar won't just try to damn me, anyway, no matter what happens. If you think it's hard to ask for my help, how hard do you think it is for me to ask you to try and protect me? What do you expect me to do, just run away?" She barely shook her head. She brought her hand over and touched his cheek, prompting his eyes to rise back to her's. The corners of her mouth rose for a moment, and then her hand was going down to his shoulder. "Forget it," she mumbled. "I've already made up my mind. It might be the stupid move to make, but what good is keeping my hide intact if it'll just be hard to sleep, after?"

Luke gave a blink. She widened her smile, a little, and arched her eyebrows, as if playfully daring him to argue with her ultimatum. He didn't. Instead, he surprised her, a little. She noticed his eyes flick down, and then he was leaning in, a little. One of his hands came to her back, gently holding her steady. She raised her eyebrows higher, but when he closed his eyes, she knew he wasn't going to slow down. Before his lips could even brush against her's, she was uttering a single syllable, turning her head to the side. She blinked a couple times as she waited. Out of the corner of her eyes, she could see him open his own, easing his head back, a little. For a second, all he did was smile.

She turned her head back, her lips parted just a crack. He didn't say anything, for a few moments. All he did was watch her eyes, an odd sort of amusement creeping up in his own, like there was some joke she wasn't in on. Eventually, he barely shifted his chin up at her. In a murmur, he asked "What're you so afraid of?...Why is kissing me the one thing you don't want to do? You know, I said it before." He grinned a little, chuckled, and added "I think we've already blown past that point, by now." Erika's brow furrowed a little, but her eyes shifted downwards. She didn't answer him. Although she did a good job at keeping her feelings off her sleeve, he eventually mumbled "...You can't tell me it's because I'm a guy."

Erika's face immediately screwed up. "What? No! Of course not, if that were the problem, we wouldn't have done half the shit we've done!" He chuckled, a little. She furrowed her brow at him, but quickly looked off to the side. "...I just don't think it's a very good idea, is all," she eventually offered, her voice soft. If only he'd take the hint and leave it be. He raised his free hand from her lap to her jaw, gently brushing her chin with his thumb. "Why not," he lightly pushed. Her brow furrowed a little deeper at his insistence. He raised his eyebrows a little and lost his smile. "Oh," he quietly said, "I think I see what it is...Well, in that case, I suppose I can't blame you for feeling a little nervous..."

Erika couldn't control herself. He was so good at picking up her thoughts - could he figure out what she was thinking, even then? She looked over at him, disguising her defensiveness behind a smirk. "Hey, listen," she snapped, as playfully as she could. Raising her eyebrows high, narrowing her eyes for a moment, she remarked "You know, you better be careful, Luke. You're getting too damn cozy with those lips of your's, and it's getting you a little gay. Wanting to suck dick is the sort of thing that got me sent to Hell, you know. Be careful not to slip on that tightrope, big guy, or you'll end up just like me."

Luke just sort of looked at her for a moment, as if he wasn't quite sure what to make of the statement. Slowly, he dropped his hand back down from her jaw, lightly setting it over her lap. As a knot twisted inside her belly, she couldn't help but look away. She tried crossing her legs, tried telling herself to relax, but all at once...She just felt out of place, awkward. She tried to clear her throat, but it didn't help. She tried touching the hand he had over her thigh, but he didn't respond. His fingers were still. The knot in her belly tightened. She parted her lips a crack, but the words never came out. She never should've said that.

Eventually, when the tense silence became intolerable to him, he slowly said "...Well...I, uh...Don't really know what to say. I don't know where to start." The statement made her wince. He slowly slipped his hand out from under her's, and she couldn't help but curl her fingers in response, lightly balling her hand. He raised an eyebrow, adding "I wouldn't have really expected you to say something like that. But, I suppose this all stems back to what you think you were condemned for." Erika's lips shifted until she had turned them inwards and bitten them. After a couple unbearable seconds, she finally managed to say "I didn't mean it like that, that's not what I was trying to say. I shouldn't have said that. I just..."

He didn't really answer. She didn't really have the will to say much more. For an agonizingly long stretch of time, they just sat there in silence, her in his lap, not even looking at him. Eventually, she could bear it no longer. She found the will to move, got up from the chair, and simply left. He didn't stop her or even call after her, but then again, she didn't afford him much time to change her mind. She returned to her lair, now a scorched ex-lair, and spent the rest of the daylight hours sifting through the ashes, trying to find what had survived. Little had. Besides her portcullis, woman-seducing lipstick, and that damn latex succubus uniform, everything had been destroyed. Only the things crafted in Hell had survived the flames.

Erika was relentless in beating herself up. She couldn't find the courage to face Luke again that day, not until the sun had set. She supposed he might've even been waiting for her, if he hadn't let her remark sting too badly. Still, he had every right to be angry. Hell, she was angry with herself. Why the hell had she said that?...Should've been the last thing somebody could've expected to hear from her, of all people. She didn't blame Luke one bit for feeling uncomfortable. She wanted to apologize, she knew she should've gotten the words out before leaving, but she hadn't the strength, and the longer she waited, the heavier the burden weighed down her shoulders.

She considered his question: why was she afraid of kissing him? It didn't take her long to find the answer. She had always known why, and it wasn't because she was afraid of being seen kissing another man, or even of feeling uncomfortable kissing Luke, specifically. In fact, it had nothing to do with him, at all. It was purely vestigial, at that point. In the beginning, she hadn't wanted to kiss him - or any man, truly - not because she wouldn't have enjoyed it, but because she hadn't wanted to put her penance under any risk. She was afraid of enjoying it too much. She needed self-restraint. She also didn't want to look like an idiot to other demons, but that was a distant second. That's it, that's all.

Sex was easy. Sex was cheap. Sex was nothing, especially with her victims. With the occasional man, she needed to be careful, of course, but there were still things she could do, if she framed it right. But kissing, oh, kissing was a different beast. Kissing could've made it harder to keep things safe. Kissing was her Achilles' Heel. At first, Luke had been no different from any other man. Don't kiss him - it'll just make it harder to do what needs to be done, in the end. But, things with Luke hadn't played out the way they always did with other paladins, and before she had even seen it coming, she had been defending him at every turn. The excuses she gave, sometimes they were to Balthazar. Sometimes they were to herself.

Sure, she wanted to kiss him. Why was she afraid, then? She was afraid of something that had already happened, she supposed. She was on ice as thin as paper, and kissing would only weigh her down. Now, if only she could tell him that, in her apology. It took her some time, but she eventually built up the nerve to face him, again. However, she had her eyes set on something a little better than a simple "I'm sorry" and a hug: she wanted to really make it up to him. She shouldn't have said what she said, and she'd never say something like that, again. She knew better. Tease someone for what they want to do in the bedroom? Psh, she was one to talk.

What a cockup...She had lashed out because he had made her anxious, but at no fault of his own. If she could turn back time, she would've let that kiss happen, and everything would've been right. It's always 20/20. Of course, with all of her worldly possessions turned to ash, she didn't have much she could use to impress him, with. How could she solve that little problem, she mused? Why, the answer was simple: get it from her victims, of course! Why not? It was just some makeup and underwear, right? Oh, it's not like they'd need it, they could replace it whenever they wanted!

Somebody like her, on the other hand, was needier, and this was nothing if not a noble cause. As her plan bloomed, so too did her confidence. Yeah, she could make things up to Luke, really wow him. Something extra girly, extra slutty, to show she likes their relationship just the way it is. He wants a kiss? She'll kiss him wherever the hell he wants, if it makes him happy. He just better be prepared to kiss her back. The thought had her giddy. He may have been just another holy man, but he was her holy man, damn it...

"...Oh, and I might need your makeup kit, for a while. You don't mind, do you?"

"Mmf...Sslk...Mm-mm..."

"No, I didn't think you would. Heh heh..."

Erika grinned to herself. There she was, not an hour after leaving her trashed lair, standing tall in some rich woman's nice, pristine bedchambers, said rich woman kneeling before her as she greedily serviced the smug incubus. Of course, of the many women she could've been called to, Erika had made the conscious decision to hit up a well-to-do lady, all in the hopes that the perverted vixen would have plenty of stuff she could easily "borrow." Thankfully, it seemed like she had hit the jackpot with just her first meal. Sometimes, only every once in a while, things go just right without any hitches. It's the little moments like that that make it all worthwhile.

Of course, once she had woken her victim up and gotten her nice and primed, Erika had provided the woman the opportunity to have exactly what she had always secretly yearned after: to be the mouth-slave of a "girl" like her, with more than enough meat to cross her eyes and tickle her tonsils. While the woman had her sloppy fun and tried to get Erika off, doing an admittedly only so-so job of it at that, Erika was busy eyeing her trappings, taking stock of all she could use to make a proper apology to Luke. Anything she couldn't see, she'd ask the woman about, and of course, even with a mouthful of demon cock, she was all too happy to answer, even to give away anything Erika desired.

Such generosity was touching, even if the compulsion made it happen. Slitted eyes glowing gold like hot coals, half-closed and laidback, Erika held her hips and slowly scanned around the dark room, largely ignoring the woman squatting before her. Her eyes found the armoire, then paused. She clicked her tongue and arched an eyebrow, raising a hand to tap a finger against her lip. Quietly, she mused aloud "A dress, maybe?...No, I'd probably just look like a pompous idiot. But, that doesn't mean I couldn't make something of my own, with a little creativity...Lingerie would be more my style, though. Even a baby doll would be better. Just, something new to really catch his eye. He's already seen me in this, often enough."

The woman mumbled around her mouthful of meat. Erika glanced down at her, idly remarking "Ignore me, I'm not talking to you. Just keep going." She rolled her eyes as her mouth widened into an entertained smile. "Mmm, that feels so good," she begrudgingly offered, effortlessly hitting just the right mix of breathy and breathless. Really, this woman's greatest fantasy could've been something she at least knew a thing or two about, but Erika told herself it was all just part of the trade. Just gasp a couple times and make her happy. Every forced noise just meant one more thing she'd take.

Raising an eyebrow, she quickly added "Actually, what kind of lingerie do you have?" Pouting her lips in a little frown, she nonchalantly threw out "Something saucy, I hope. Some middle-aged pervert with too much coin to throw around like you must have a tidy little collection locked away, somewhere. Something you'd hide from your husband, even?" The green-eyed blonde looked up at her and mumbled against her rod once again, which only had Erika sucking her teeth and teasing "Oh, jeez, come on. Don't talk with your mouth full. The manners on you rich people, sometimes, I swear..."

The blonde, breathing heavy through her nose, reluctantly eased her head back, letting Erika's red length slip free from her lips. Her eyes utterly glazed, her mouth hanging ajar, she slowly panted out "...I have...Lots of lingerie...I've always...Wanted to share it, with...With another woman!..." The prim lady's eyes sparkled as they widened in realization. Suddenly even more breathless, she added "P-Please, take some! Wear it, for me!" Erika immediately smirked high, offering a purring "Hmm" by way of response. She leaned over a little, making the woman's empty eyes cross. She lightly took her by the jaw hard enough to pucker her lips, her smirk growing into a wide smile.

In little more than a murmur, Erika puckered her lips right back as she cooed "How sweet of you. Well, today's your lucky day, honey! I've got a big date planned with a special someone, and I might just need a few things. Oh, don't worry, I'll model 'em for you, while I'm at it. That'd make you happy, wouldn't it? To see someone like me in some extra girly lingerie? To see my dong standing nice and tall under a pink, silk nightie?" The woman nodded, slowly at first, but steadily more quickly. Erika narrowed an eye as she hummed a chuckle. She let go of her victim's jaw and walked on over to the armoire, grinning and holding back a titter. Well, now that she had permission...She was going to give Luke such a surprise.

It took a bit of time before she was satisfied. A couple hours, in fact, but ultimately, Erika couldn't tear herself away from the sweetheart any longer. She made her way back to his campsite, flying faster than she probably should've, if she wanted her new outfit to stay in one piece. Thankfully, she didn't lose anything on the way, and in no time at all, she had spotted the flickering glow of his bonfire through the dense forest. So fixated had she been on her slip of the tongue and how she could make it up to Luke, at no point had it occurred to her that she might've been leaving him to Balthazar's demon by keeping her distance for so long.

As she winged down into the camp, however, realization hit her, and a cold wave rushed across her skin, turning her veins to ice. At first, when she touched down, all she did for a couple seconds was glance around and listen, trying to spot Luke. Eventually, however, she finally spoke up, calling his name. When he answered from the other side of his tent, she huffed a quick sigh of relief. She walked on over, leaning to the side to get a quicker look around the corner of the tent. Trying to keep her tone relaxed, she asked "Everything alright? Nothing happened while I was gone, did it?" She saw her answer before he gave it.

There he was, kneeling at his shrine, not a scratch on him. He was perfectly fine, besides smelling of incense. He blinked a couple times when he saw her, the corners of his mouth shifting as he fought a surprised smile. Judging by the pink tint she spotted flushing his face, she'd say it was a safe bet that her new outfit was having the desired effect. Now, if only that candlelight at his shrine was stronger, she'd probably be able to make out the shape of that damn monster trouser snake of his, running down his thigh...The thought had her pouting her lips to the side in a tiny, contented smirk.

He raised his eyebrows a little, quietly answering "No, I'm fine. No sign of the demon. More importantly, you're okay. You know, you really had me worried, there." She watched him look back over at his shrine, his eyes easing half-closed. He abruptly looked tired as he slowly exhaled, his eyes dropping near the ground. Arching an eyebrow, he barely shifted his eyes in her direction, softly adding "I figured you might've wanted space, but when you disappeared for the entire day, I started to get pretty worried." He raised his eyes to her's, and at the same time, he started to rise to his feet. She opened her mouth to start her apology, but he raised his hand to stop her.

"Erika, listen," he offered. Raising his eyebrows, he asserted "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have overreacted. You were only teasing. I just got uncomfortable, for a minute. I should've taken it in stride." Her lips parted, while her eyebrows rose up high. Her shoulders slumped. He looked down from her eyes, his jaw momentarily rolling to the side. "I made things awkward," he added. "I don't blame you for giving me time to calm down." Erika's brow knit. No, this was all wrong. She quickly walked closer towards him, hastily blurting out "What're you talking about, man, I was the one who screwed up. I shouldn't have said what I said. It wasn't..."

She gave a clipped sigh, then continued, her brow sinking deep. His eyes rose back to her's, filled with a confusion to match her own. "...It wasn't fair of me," she continued. "You were one hundred percent right to get uncomfortable, it wasn't right of me to say what I did." She gave another sigh, longer this time, deflating with a long exhale through her nose. She raised a hand and touched her forehead, sweeping a finger over to her temple. She shook her head a little, looked down at his stomach, and muttered "...You were right. I was scared. I just didn't want to say why, but it's probably not what you think. I took it out on you instead of just being mature about it...I'm sorry."

One corner of her mouth flickered. A throb slowly went through her eyes as she looked back up at him. Her voice going a little small, she admitted "...I beat myself up about it, all day. It just...Wasn't nice of me. I didn't mean to talk to you, like that." She watched one corner of his mouth rise up in a rueful little smile. After a moment, he raised his hands a little, holding them out. A weight lifted from her shoulders in an instant. One foot went in front of the other before she even knew what she was doing, and in a flash, she had her arms around him, pressing herself tight against his body, feeling his big arms loop around her.

She tried not to give a quake as she needily reached her arms all the way around him, sealing their bodies together. He had blamed himself for it all? God damn it. He had gone on the whole day feeling just like she had? But it had so obviously been her fault! The hell was wrong with him? She screwed her eyes shut tight. Heart of gold strikes again. He could've just let her apologize, like she had planned to. She needed a few moments, but eventually, that throb in her eyes had subsided without progressing into a sting. She gave him a rub with her cheek, then patted his back.

Slowly, they started to ease their arms off of each other. She took a step back, looking up into those cyan eyes of his, smiling contentedly. She patted his chest; that was the best she could offer to show she was glad the issue was old news. Looking down at her, he smiled a little, unable to help but look her up and down a couple times. "So," he casually asked, "what were you up to, all day? And what's with the, uh...The new look?" Erika grinned, a little. Grabbing her hips, she arched an eyebrow a little, momentarily glancing off to the side. Rather nonchalantly, she remarked "Well, for starters, I checked my lair. Not much lasted through the fires. But, you were right. I can replace it."

Her eyes easing half-closed, she raised both eyebrows and shifted her head to the side, smiling more as she remarked "In fact, I got started, tonight. Found a nice lady who was more than happy to spread the wealth. Was a nice way to sweeten the usual deal, a little. But, for starters, I wanted to get together something nice and sexy, tonight. I, uh..." She glanced down from his eyes, but a split-second later, she was resuming eye contact. She smiled wider, for a moment. "...I thought it'd help make it up to you," she added. "You know. Something sexy to show I was thinking of you. Silly, right?"

When his lips shifted, when he unsuccessfully stifled a wide, beaming smile, when he had to look away off to the side out of embarrassment, she couldn't help but grin up at the big man. Sexy, her new ensemble certainly was. She had kept her leather collar, of course. The thing was a mainstay. The new rosary on her wrist wasn't going anywhere, either. However, instead of the fishnet top and the matching stockings, she had swapped them out for something sexier, something girlier, just to get his blood pumping.

She had pulled on a pink pair of satiny, thigh-high, nylon stockings, sheathing her beautiful legs all the way up to the middles of her thighs in silky goodness. Of course, the stockings had little white bows right at the hems, that added bit of femininity to muddy the whole "incubus" thing. Plus, she had replaced her top with a sheer, matching pink baby doll, made of a fine silk and trimmed all in white ruffles. Although it had obviously been meant for someone with smaller, ahem "blessings" than Erika's own prodigious pair, she had made do with the tight fit.

The baby doll was sleeveless, of course, with little more than strings for shoulder straps. It was split up the front clear to the bust, with either side of the garment joined together thanks to a cute little bow. The white, frilly trimming ran up either side of the center straight up to the bow, offering a narrow, if clear, window right to Erika's faint washboard abs. As if to draw attention to her healthy helpings, the baby doll had opaque pink straps as part of the chest design, simulating a sort of cupless bra - the straps ended up making triangles in the material that landed squarely around Erika's big, pink areolae, framing her firm nipples, calling forth all sucklers.

The silver barbell in her left nipple, meanwhile, pressed through the thin material, making itself all the more noticeable...Exquisite. Of course, as sensual as the lingerie was, the baby doll wasn't the only thing she had snatched from her latest victim. Oh, no. Using her claws like scissors, she had taken a pink dress of the woman's and sliced it down to a miniskirt, just a little shorter than the black latex skirt it had replaced. The damn thing was so tight around Erika's narrow waist that a belt was a joke, and because the thing was even shorter than her miniskirt - a miniskirt that was already so short that her bulge couldn't help but stick out past the edge, mind you - this new microskirt just had everything hanging right on out, giving Luke the ol' howdy-do.

For starters, thanks to this new improvised pink skirt being little more than a tube of material that she had squeezed into, it couldn't even cover the full extent of her cushiony ass, and the bottom fifth or so of either expansive cheek just happily peeked out, the tight hem squishing a delectable valley in her thick, pillowy derriere. And, if it just so happened that the person looking at her weren't the sort to get a thrill from a big, bouncy ass, well, perhaps the front would be more to their liking. Drop your eyes past her navel, past her visible triangle of thick, scarlet pubic hair creeping up past the low hem, and lay your eyes on that.

Erika's latex miniskirt had already been unable to completely conceal the big, round shape filling her white cotton panties, but this new skirt was short enough to just put the whole damn thing right on display, exposing it so clearly that somebody could easily just reach down and cop a quick feel of the goods. She hadn't done much with her glossy, bloody red hair - well, nothing besides fix it and style her bangs into something cute with a couple pins - but she had put on some new makeup and nail polish, at least. Opting for a light layer of black eyeshadow, she had complemented the look with a thin application of matching black eyeliner, and of course, those thick, plentiful lashes of her's had been made all the more dusky with mascara.

Instead of her usual pink, woman-seducing lipstick, a new crimson lipstick matched her hair, and both were matched by the vibrant red polish on her carefully manicured nails, leaving her looking true to form: a smouldering seductress come from the netherworld to plague dreams, perhaps even to grant deep, dark wishes to a lucky few. The role she played with Luke wasn't quite so clearly defined, and their body language clearly reflected it. She wasn't here to damn, and they weren't victim and victimizer.

She was looking for something. His approval, perhaps. His forgiveness, at the very least. That much had been obvious. He gave a quick, brief chuckle, looked back down at her, and admitted "Well, it's certainly, um...It's certainly something, I'll give you that." He sucked his teeth, raised his eyebrows a little, and jokingly asked "And, you put this together just for me? Just to try and apologize? You didn't have to." She fought back her smile, turning it into a high smirk. She held her hips, cocked one out, glanced off to the side, and casually remarked "Yeah, I had a funny feeling you'd like it."

She struck a pose. She stuck out a foot, switched hips to cock out, winked, and offered "Next time, I'll grab a corset instead of a baby doll. She had a real nice one to match the stockings." He chuckled, his eyes relaxing until they were half-closed. She knocked off the pose, reached out, patted his stomach, and asked "So, what about you? What did you get up to, while I was gone? You know, you probably didn't miss out on much, to be honest. If I had been around today, I probably would've just lounged around in bed and tried to catch some more sleep before sundown."

She threw him a playful frown, briefly tilted her head to the side, and remarked "Then again, maybe that'd be pretty eventful, if you'd joined me." He sighed a quiet chuckle. He briefly glanced at his little shrine, admitting "Well, truth be told, I spent most of the day either praying, checking my gear, or reading. Nothing really big happened." Erika gave a wink, grinned, patted his chest again, and chirped out "Well, now that I'm here, let's see about changing that, huh?" He offered a little smile, but to her surprise, he started to kneel back down, getting back down in front of his shrine. What's all this, then?

"Don't get me wrong, I'm relieved you're back," he reassured. "Just, let me finish my prayer." Although she continued to smirk a little, she crossed her arms beneath that perky bust of her's, furrowed her brow, and glanced skyward. He smiled from ear to ear. Evidently, he found her reaction cute. "Sorry," he remarked, a telltale teasing undercurrent in his tone. "I was just in the middle of something, is all. It wouldn't be right to cut it, midway." "Well, don't let me keep you, I suppose," she slowly remarked, raising her eyebrows. She was about to turn and walk off, likely to toss herself into his tent, when she noticed the smile growing on his face.

He didn't say anything right away, but he wouldn't stop giving her that knowing sort of look, and ultimately, she simply narrowed an eye at him and mumbled "...What? Do your thing, already. Don't let me keep you." He gave a slow blink, held up his arm towards her, and gestured her over with a quick flicking of his fingers. "Instead of getting jealous," he slowly said, "why don't you just come here and join me, for a bit?

What?

She instantly gave him a bit of a glare. She barely resisted the urge to stomp a bone horn down against the grass. Her tail gave a sharp whish to the side as she blurted out "Join you? In prayer? What do I look like, to you? Just who do you think you're talking to, buster?" The candlelight of his shrine flickered, causing the warm glow cast across his body to waver, dashing to and fro.

Those cyan eyes of his never left her's. He smiled more widely in spite of her resistance, pointing out "You were one of the faithful, during life. Praying isn't something you really forget how to do. I'm sure you remember the words to a prayer or two...Uh, well, provided you prayed frequently enough, anyway." Erika gave a curt sigh and looked off to he side, uncrossing her arms only to defiantly grab her hips. Her slitted eyes shifted back over to him a moment later, spying him out through the corners. That genuine smile of his was nothing if not disarming.

He gave another flick with his fingers, blinked a couple times, and quietly offered "Okay, you don't actually need to pray with me, if you don't want to. But, why don't you join me, at least? Sit with me. Please. Is that too much?" She slowly drew in a deep breath, held it, then exhaled just as tensely. After feeling so bad all day, after aching to make it up to him following their tiff, earlier on...She hated to deny him. She wanted to make him happy, but this...This was an obvious bad idea.

She opened her mouth, held her breath for a second, then exhaled "Okay...Alright, fine, if it matters so much to you." The corners of her mouth started to rise up high in a devilishly nasty sneer. Giving a quick shrug with her eyebrows, she added "But, I'm gonna do it my way." He slowly closed his hand, raising his eyebrows as a frown came over him. Erika chuckled, stepped over, and took his hand, anyway. That's right, mister paladin. If you're gonna stick a surprise like this on the incubus, well, you can expect just a little sacrilege. Don't like it? Don't suggest it again...Or, rather, do suggest it again. She wasn't sure which she'd find more satisfying.

It didn't take her long to get down into the position she desired. He watched her a little cautiously, clearly unsure of what he could expect. It all made her tease him with a humming giggle. Holding him by the hand, she turned around in front of him, bringing his arm around her waist until she could plant his hand over her tummy. Slowly, she eased herself down to her knees directly in front of him, teasing him by stroking the tip of her tail through his hair. She bent over at just the right moment, intentionally shoving her rump right towards his face. Sadly, Luke had quick reflexes. When she felt no collision, she bit her lip in a grin, chuckled, and swished her tail through his hair one last time.

At last, she was easing down to her knees squarely in front of the bigger man, going back to chest with him, nonchalantly instructing him to space his knees apart. He complied, allowing her to slip her legs back between his, removing the one thing keeping them from pressing close. She shimmied back on her knees until her wings were pressing between them, then tilted her head back into his chest with a big, coy smile, her eyes closed to slits as she gave a purr. "Mmm," she hummed, "that's much better." Holding his hand to her stomach, she gently rubbed his hand around across her bare abs, inviting him to feel the soft material of her baby doll brush against his arm.

She could almost hear him gulp. She nearly snickered. Too much contact for him, maybe? Raising her eyebrows, she teasingly cooed "Okay, then. I'm here. Go on. Go ahead, big guy. Pray. Or, are you thinking that maybe this wasn't such a bright idea, after all?" She grinned, glanced back towards his chest, then chuckled out "Hey, I don't think I can feel you, down there. Maybe we're not close enough, after all..."

She couldn't see his face, but she felt his other hand come up and touch her left shoulder. Her expression promptly relaxed as she felt him lean over, just a little, just enough to nuzzle his nose and mouth into her satiny hair, right next to her right horn. "No," he placidly murmured. "This is plenty close. This is just right." He pressed a kiss to her hair, subtly drawing in the scent of her locks. She furrowed her brow, but she couldn't resist smiling...Or going a little red, for that matter. Smartass. Touchy-feely smartass.

While she was still trying to think of a retort to zing him with, he slipped his hand out from under her's, leaving her hand over her belly. As she looked down, she spotted his big hand gently take her by the wrist, then slowly guide her's over towards his shrine. As her eyes rose to the glow of the lit candles, her smirks, her grins, they all began to fade. Instead, a surprisingly passive look washed over her. His shrine was nothing elaborate, but there was an elegance in the simplicity, a grace.

A small, short table, little more than a step stool, had been covered over in a pure white cloth. Erected over the middle was a plain wooden cross, surrounded on either side with relatively thick white candles, only a third of which had actually been lit. Set behind the cross was a wreath, fresh and green. A set of prayer beads had been laid down on the table, right near a corner, just between two candles. Incense sticks were bundled in the rear corners of the shrine, while lighting sticks were set in a separate bundle, just by the side of the table. Erika supposed that the bible he had inside the tent typically accompanied the shrine, but he must not have seen the need to pull it out for this particular bout of praying, because it was nowhere in sight.

Luke guided her hand down to the lighting sticks, and after a moment of silent hesitation, she slipped one free from the bundle, holding up the long, narrow length of wood. A faraway look began to fill her eyes as he gently guided her hand over the shrine, inviting her to hold the end of the stick inside a lit candle until the wick ignited the treated wood. Had she ever done this, during life?...The movements were almost familiar. Going that far back was like going into mist. She began to move her hand on her own, slowly taking over from his guiding.

Luke's voice was soft, just above her ear. "You don't need to pray with me if you don't want to, but it's only right to light some candles. I'm glad you're joining me, at least. Maybe He'll answer me more quickly, with you here." Erika's brow twitched down a touch, but it didn't last long. "I kind of doubt it," she quietly refuted. He slid his hand down her other arm, passing it over her hand on his way to her stomach. She watched his hand as he guided her from candle to candle, lighting another few until a good half of them all had been ignited.

Then, he was bringing her hand up towards his face, just close enough for him to blow out the flame at the end of the stick. He let go of her wrist, freeing her up to shake the smoke away from the wood, then discard it to the ground by the shrine. A moment later, he was bringing his arms around her, joining his hands not far from her chest. He went still. She waited a couple moments for him to say something, to push just one more time for her to join him, but he never did.

With her smaller form cradled in the bigger man's arms, she may as well have been shielded from whichever of the powers that be may have been watching. His body was her curtain. She couldn't help but watch his hands, for a few seconds. Some part of her was a little surprised he hadn't taken her's into his and guided her into prayer, himself. He actually truly believed...He wasn't just playing at praying for appearance's sake. Was his faith appreciated, or expected? Her eyes focused past his hands, eyeing the wooden cross on display amidst the candles. Although she stared, although her brow sank a touch, her eyes remained relaxed. There was no great anger...Not at the moment, at least.

Anger was such a tired response. Animosity was the slow burn she had been reduced to, after all this time. Luke didn't finish quickly. He kept her there for a time, but not long enough for her to get impatient. In spite of herself, she found the moment...Restful, almost. She attributed that to the proximity with the big lunkhead behind her, but maybe the lingering smell of incense was doing it, or even the vanilla scent of the candles. Whatever it was, she was sure it had nothing to do with his praying. In fact, as far as she was concerned, he probably should've been glad some dramatic retribution wasn't being visited upon his head, praying with her in his arms like he was.

Eventually, he unclasped his hands and eased them back down to her stomach, and it wasn't long after that before she was bringing a hand over both of his. Raising her eyebrows, her eyes partway closed, she passively remarked "So. Took long enough. Get an answer, this time?" She felt him touch his mouth to her hair, once more by the base of her right horn. He held it for a moment, then eased his head back enough to talk, lightly saying "...Sometimes, He doesn't answer with words."

She knitted her brow a little, turning her head to try and look at him from over her shoulder. The hell was that supposed to mean? He tilted his head to the side just enough for them to meet eyes. The little smile on his face was cute, but it didn't give her the clarification that she wanted. He gave a blink, his own brow momentarily knitting as he glanced at the cross over the shrine. As he looked back into her golden eyes, he smiled, lightly raised his eyebrows, and murmured "...Are you sure you don't want to give it a try?"

She rolled her eyes. He continued, regardless. "I'm right here. Nothing will happen. When was the last time you tried?" Her jaw subtly rolled to the side. Her brow beginning to furrow now, she muttered "Probably before I was sent to Hell. Bad idea, Luke." His lips parted to answer, but she bitterly added "What makes you think He'd even answer me? You're a paladin, and He won't even answer you. What chance do I have? If a holy man can't even get His ear, what's a demon gonna do?"

Her eyes started to sting, burning along her eyelashes. Under her breath, she insisted "I have nothing to say to Him, anyway." Luke's smile faded. Raising his eyebrows a touch, passively watching her eyes, he patiently murmured "I believe you. Don't say anything, then. Ask Him something. Don't you have questions to put to Him?...Maybe He'll answer you. And if He doesn't, then I promise, I won't ever ask you to do this, again. I wouldn't push for this if I didn't think it could help."

Her lips pressed tight together as she internally raged. She didn't want to go along with the moronic idea, she didn't see any point to it or good coming of it, but...This was Luke asking her. She didn't want to say no, especially when he was being this gentle about it. Even if this was a truly idiotic, pointless idea, he had his heart in the right place. He was only trying to help. That's all he had ever tried to do...Help. Why did he need to make it so hard, sometimes? Why couldn't he just accept that maybe his precious God wasn't quite as all-loving as the good book says He is?

He started to smile, a little. He brought one of his hands to her tummy, giving her faint muscles a gentle stroking from her ribs down to the waist of her skirt. Quietly, he encouraged her, murmuring "I know you felt it: peace. Even if He doesn't answer, prayer is peaceful. I know some people equate that peace with mindlessness or complacency, but that's not it. It's just succour. Everybody wants it, deep down inside." Erika suddenly smiled. Out of the corner of her mouth, she remarked "Yeah, you know, you're right, I think every guy wants a little sucker in his life." For a moment, his eyes started to light up. He opened his mouth to speak, then paused. She grinned from ear to ear. He sighed through his nose. Patiently, he remarked "Erika..."

A bored look flashing on her face, she gave a sigh instead of groaning. "Okay, fine," she wearily caved. Her brow furrowing, she turned her head and eyed the cross on the shrine. "I'll give it a fuckin' try," she muttered. "Not for Him...For you. Because you asked me to." When he kissed the back of her head and thanked her, she just gave a grumble. Stubborn jackass. He owed her one, for this. She raised her hands up, but hesitated from joining them. Her brow slowly sank deeper, while her jaw just tightened. This was a dumb fuckin' idea.

She didn't relax until he raised his hands, took her's, and guided them together, carefully holding them between his just like she had always expected him to. Her eyes started to go wet. They dropped to the candles in front of the cross, and slowly, her eyelids eased closed. Here goes nothing.

A crippling anxiety kept her from starting for several moments, but eventually...She spoke in her mind.

"...Hi. It's me. You know. Erika. The guy you let go to Hell. I'm praying to you because your paladin friend, Luke, wanted me to give it a try. I don't see the point. What's there to say? Unless you're going to own up to fucking me over, we have nothing to talk about. You made me the way I am, even though you should've known it would make everyone hate me and condemn me, which would get me sent to Hell. In other words, you made me just to cast me down. Why did you even give that sort of power to regular people? What the fuck? You know what? Screw this."

She opened her eyes and silently pulled her hands out from inside Luke's, throwing them down. She looked off to the side, turning her head away from the man behind her, a bitter grimace crossing her face. "What? What's wrong," he asked. Judging by the way his voice moved, he had leaned his head to the side to try and look at her face. She tried not to take her frustration out on him as she snapped "I don't think I can do this, Luke. This...Wasn't your brightest idea, man. Trust me, there's no point. Even if He's listening, it isn't going to change anything. What happened, happened. There's no changing it. It's His fault it even happened, anyway."

Although Luke's voice was quiet, she couldn't stand to hear another word. "Don't you think you were a little quick? You could give it another try-" "No. No, I'm sorry, but I'm done," Erika hastily muttered. He didn't resist as she started to stand up, pushing aside his arms in the process. He watched the way she clenched her hands as she got up to her infernal heels and stepped aside from the shrine, and once she was a couple feet away, she turned around and faced him, surprising him with the petulant look on her face. Her choice of words betrayed her vitriol, but she kept her tone unsettlingly calm, at least at first. Nearly a century of bitterness had made her black in her resolve.

In a mutter, she said "You want the whole story? You know what happened when I went to Hell, Luke? When I woke up, they laid it all out on the line, for me. They told me the sort of things you don't hear while you're alive, because nobody really knows the whole deal. This is one of those things nobody would believe, even if God, Himself, tried telling people. It just doesn't make sense." A sort of tense confusion crept up on his face, but he didn't discourage her from venting. He merely watched her, his lips parted a crack, his eyes attentive. Whatever this was, it was the root cause of her separation from God.

Erika raised a hand by her side, clawing once at the air. Trying not to curl her lip up, she remarked "You know what got me sent to Hell? It wasn't because I was gay and God condemned me, for it. It was because other people condemned me, for it." Luke narrowed his eyes, a little, out of confusion. So taken aback was he, he turned his head to the side and leaned it back a little, giving her a bewildered, cockeyed look. Erika raised her eyebrows high, stubbornly nodding at his bafflement. "Yeah, that's right," she insisted. "You heard me. I was sent to Hell not even because God cast me down, but because other fucking people condemned me!"

Luke stammered for a moment, looking more and more confused by the second. "B-But, no, that doesn't make sense. Regular people don't have the power to judge their fellow man-"

Erika resolutely shook her head. "That's the truth of the matter: people actually can cast each other down, if enough of them hate hard enough. God's a wimp and lets peer pressure get to Him." She finally started to curl her lip up. She contemptuously glanced skyward, then looked back down at him. "I don't know what's worse," she quietly muttered. "The idea that God knowingly made me a certain way and then turned His back on me for it, or the idea that God tacitly allowed me to go to Hell for no reason other than other people having sticks up their asses. Either way, you were right all along, Luke. Me going to Hell doesn't make much sense, does it?...Not unless He doesn't actually care all that much about us, anyway, and if He doesn't care, then why bother?"

Luke's brow sank deep. He slowly sat back on his legs. Slowly, he tilted his head forwards, looking down at the ground by her feet. Erika's tone started to get angrier and angrier as he avoided her eyes. She knew it was unfair of her, but when he answered her with speechlessness, she couldn't help but take out her anger towards God on him, attacking God by proxy. Raising her voice a little, she said "The first explanation means He intentionally made me just to cast me down, and the second means He just threw His fuckin' hands up and let normal people keep me from Heaven! I believed in Him, but He didn't care enough to save me!"

Gritting her teeth, clenching her hands until her knuckles whitened, she had to stop herself from shouting. Luke still couldn't meet her eyes. "Do you fuckin' understand me, Luke?! Your precious God let me go to Hell! He turned His back on me, not the other way around! I believed in Him, and He sent me down, anyway! Where's the love in that? That was the point when I realized that it was all bullshit - God, Heaven, faith - it was all a fucking joke. I was sent to Hell to be punished for something that wasn't even my fault, just because the referee was too much of a pussy to tell the audience to fuck off. I didn't deserve the punishment I was given."

He finally raised his eyes back to her's, giving her a plaintive look. So worked up that she was breathing a little heavily, she went silent for a few moments, considering her next words more carefully. She knew she needed to slow down. She didn't want to direct her bitterness at him. Today had already been dramatic enough, and she was only making it worse, now. He didn't deserve it. It wasn't his fault, after all. He had no way of knowing. But, after bottling it inside for decades...The spill was going to be messy, regardless of who was in the way. Considerably more calmly, now, she finished off her tirade with a faint "It was a bum fuckin' deal. So, I said screw it."

"I'd rather be a demon and do what I want than suffer for who knows how long, just because some assholes in my hometown didn't like how I wanted to fuck." She jabbed a finger down towards the ground, raised her eyebrows high, and declared "If I'm going to go down there, I'd rather be on the right side of the pitchforks." For a tense few moments, Luke maintained his dejected silence, but eventually, he rediscovered his voice. Raising his chin a little more, looking up at her, he murmured "But...You don't get to do what you want. Do you?" Erika's jaw slowly clenched. Her eyes lost the fire. They dropped to the ground. Her fists slowly opened back up.

She deflated with a long, drawn-out sigh. Neither of them said anything for a couple moments, but when Luke started to stand up, Erika gave a quick wince, avoided looking at him, and mumbled "I'm sorry...I've never told anyone that, before. I wanted to make things up to you, and here I am, yelling at you..." "It's alright," he soothingly answered. His forgiveness only made her hang her head down, a little. Her eyes started stinging, all over again. God damn it, he just...Won't stop forgiving her. No matter how little she deserves it, he just...

She couldn't look him in the eyes as he walked up and gently took her by the shoulders. His tone was patient, light, but she could read between the lines well enough to sense his bewilderment. "I'm not really sure what to say, after all that...Other than, well, the platitude that God works in mysterious ways?" Erika sniffled, trying to fight a smile. Well, at least he was willing to admit that the line was cliche. Arching an eyebrow, she glanced up to his eyes, trying not to warble as she remarked "Yeah, that's a little old, by this point. You're about a hundred years too late, man." He gently rubbed his thumbs against her shoulders, smiling more ruefully.

Quietly, he said "Whatever the reasons were for you going to Hell, Erika, it counts for something that Hell never went to you. What I mean by that is, you've been an incubus for nearly a century, right? And yet, you're still just a lost soul. You were never truly damned, to begin with. No matter what happened, no matter what you had to do to survive, you never really gave in. And, although I don't want to believe that it was the whole justification behind it, being a demon meant that we'd meet. If I liked that you were a demon, I wouldn't be trying to save you, but...I can be thankful that we had the chance to meet, at least. No matter what happens, there's always that."

Her brow knit up. He smiled more, shifting one of his hands from her shoulder to the side of her neck, touching his thumb to her cheek. A shine started to fill his eyes. His lips barely moved. "I like seeing you. You make me smile like nobody else can. You know, I hope things keep going the way they are, because so far, I'm really hopeful, you know?" Erika's stomach twisted up. She furrowed her brow, but her lips parted a crack. He gave his shrine a glance, then offered "Let me think on what you said...I'll pray on it. God's been...Admittedly pretty silent about you, so far, but...Things are getting more and more important."

"Do it later. I think we've both done plenty praying for tonight," she dryly answered. He looked back over. She watched his eyes, and for a moment or two, they were both silent. All she did was will him to try again. She tried so hard, she was sure he'd pick up her thoughts. Do it, lunkhead. Now's the time! She almost ended up trying to compel him into it. It wouldn't work, of course, but maybe he'd find it cute. Eventually, he must've taken the hint, because he tried leaning in...Just a little. She started to smile. God damn it, finally. She could already feel the beginnings of butterflies in her stomach. Trying not to grin, she murmured "...You know, I'm not gonna pull away, this time..."

He smiled at her teasing. She raised her chin, a little, to angle for him. He leaned in further, closed his eyes, and...

Erika's eyelids flickered shut. Oh, fuck. Oh, God. Their first real kiss. Her stomach immediately tingled. He smelled good, he felt good. A fuse lit up, in her brain. He was light with it. Insistent, yet gentle. He kissed her once, and she wasn't shy with reciprocating. For a few seconds, she ignored the increasingly tight fit of her panties, but nothing was going to stop the explosive reaction from steadily getting worse and worse. She reached out, gently grabbing fistfuls of his shirt, right over his stomach. He wasn't going anywhere.

She leaned into him just a touch, pressing her mouth a little more firmly against his, kissing him a bit more passionately. That's right, mister paladin...That's right, little incubus. The both of you, just follow your instincts. Follow your hearts. It can't be a sin...He slid his hand around to the back of her neck, tilting his head just a bit to deepen the kisses. She started kissing him back a little more quickly, prompting him to match her pace. Her hands tightened on his shirt as their lips began to part. She gave a little coo as she flicked out the tip of her tongue, giving the inside of his upper lip a quick lapping.

When she went in for a second lap, she felt something warm and moist greet her. Her entire body gave a little shiver as she slipped her tongue deeper in between his lips, meeting him for a coiling. Her tail hung low, besides the occasional flick of the tip. Without making a sound, she let go of his shirt with one hand, reached down, and urgently yanked her panties to the side, letting her ballooning meat swing free before her underwear grew painfully restrictive. Good God...If he ever wanted to turn the tables on her, locking lips was the way to go. He probably already knew it, too.

She gave another little coo into his mouth as he gave a few rapid flicks against the tip of her tongue with his own, teasing her. She passively endured before going on the offensive, lightly lashing him with her own, dominating him in an oral wrestling match. She reached up and held his shoulder, listening to the sounds of their kissing until, after a breathless minute, he at last began to withdraw, prompting her hand to slide down to his chest. She withdrew more quickly, immediately swallowing before he started to stand back up. Still, a small trickle of their mingled saliva rolled down to her chin. She opened her eyes and looked up at him, a giant smirk plastering itself across her beautiful face. Whew. Some first kiss, huh?

Her glazed eyes closed to slits, she rubbed her hand across his chest. She wanted to make a remark. Anything at all. All that came out, however, was a little giggle. God, he knew what he was doing, when he used those lips. He had the same sort of look in his eyes, but he wasn't afraid to really smile. She stayed still as he reached up and wiped his thumb across her chin, gently swiping away their saliva.

His voice low, he murmured a simple "That was great..." Her smirk turned into a fang-exposing grin. Utterly blase about it, she looked down between them, and what she saw had her eyebrows rising high. Her grin turned back into a big, smug smirk as she hummed a "Hmm!" She reached out and delicately ran her fingertips down along the long, thick shape snaking down the inside of a thigh. "Yeah, you weren't kidding," she teased.

Seemingly out of the corner of his mouth, Luke softly pointed out "...Well, at least I didn't take it out..." Erika's eyes snapped up to his. Although her face began to flush, her smirk widened into a giant, cocky smile. "Hey, these panties are tight, okay," she retorted, which only made his smile beam from ear to ear. She narrowed an eye at him, reached out and took him by the hand, and gave the bulge in his trousers a firm honking before walking past his side.

Guiding him by the fingers, she was clearly inviting him to follow after her, and although he complied, he couldn't resist a knowing question. Slowly, a little playfully, he asked "Where exactly are we going, Erika?" She smiled from ear to ear. "Shut up, soldier boy," she affectionately replied. He gave a playful groan. "Erika..." "I said shush," she teased, tossing him a grin from over her shoulder.

Take a hint. Wise up. Humour her.

~~End of Ch. 6~~

Chapter 7: Push and Pull

Chapter Text

Incubus Erika

Part II ‑ "House of God"

By: Jesse Racine AKA Samson

Original Date Written: December 27, 2016

She moved into the tent, guiding him along just behind herself. Once he was safely inside, she forcibly pulled him to the side with a hungry chuckle, pressing him to go down and lie still over his back. He didn't make a sound, but she could see him watching her, trusting her. She sealed the tent flaps together, then wasted no time in undressing. She pulled off her baby doll, readily tossing aside the flimsy lingerie. She needed a few moments, but she eventually slipped off her nylons and squeezed out of her new microskirt. With a grin, she tossed the skirt over onto his face, making him chuckle as he pulled it off.

As soon as he could see again, he was treated to the sight of little miss Erika crawling over his body, making her way up to him. Her eyes began to glow with compulsion, filling the tent with the golden light of her infernal manipulation. Her eyes half-closed, her smile wide, her wings stretching as wide as they could inside the tent, her voice echoed unnaturally as she muttered "You're mine, big guy. All mine..." He smiled back at her. "Suits me fine," he readily answered. Her eyes sharpened at the return in banter. With a chuckle, she took him by the shoulders, rested her body down against his, and pressed her lips back to his. Suits him fine, huh?...We'll see about that.

She felt the big man reach up around her, both hands stroking along the small of her back, occasionally touching the base of her tail. She ground her crotch against him a few times before breaking the seal of their lips. Grinning, breathing huskily, she ordered him to keep still before she started shimmying backwards across his body. He watched her contentedly as she began to undress him, the petite demoness all too happy to strip her conquest nude for some real skin-on-skin contact. Her eyes glazed more and more as she pulled his sweater up past his head, working with his arm movements to make things easier for herself.

Then, she was pulling off his boots, throwing them to the foot of the tent, and latching her hands onto his pants. She didn't realize she was losing control. Things felt too right for her to care. All she could feel was that warm flush across her skin, that tingle in her puffy nipples, that hot throb in her crotch, that needy flex in her backdoor...That hot weight slowly building up deep inside her core, making her feel heavy between her front and back. As soon as she had his trousers open and down his thighs, she was yanking down his trunks and flashing a big, shit-eating grin. There it was, just waiting for her...

She finished pulling off both his pants and his trunks, casting them aside. He was utterly defenceless, now. Completely nude, he was vulnerable to all the naughty things she could think of exposing him to. Where to start? She grinned, hooted an adrenaline-laced chortle, and glanced up at his eyes. Oh, Luke...He was just lying there, prey, ready for whatever she had in store. She reached out and slipped one hand around his member, giving it a little squeeze in her fist, gauging how hard he was. She had a giggle as she vigorously waved him back and forth, watching his eleven inches wag about until he gave a little wince.

Breathing huskily, she grabbed her own prick with the other hand, crawled closer on her knees, and roughly pushed her manhood against his. Although he gave a grunt, the colour creeping up in his face proved he didn't mind the manhandling, as per usual. Erika tittered as she roughly waved her cock back and forth against his, tapping his meat with her's, making him feel how hard her veiny ten inches were with the most personal part of his body. Who was harder?...Hard to tell, by that point.

The heat was incredible, but if anything, it only made Erika lick her lips. She stifled a shudder as she raised her hips a little, pointed him over towards herself, and forced him to rub his tip back and forth across her oversized balls, making his rigid pole push around her undercarriage, shifting her smooth, bloated beanbag this way and that against the end of his rod. Sweat was already making Erika's forehead glisten. Yes. All the things she had always wanted to do, all the things she had ached for, the last century...He could give it to her. He would give it to her. She'd take it, if need be! He was all her's! She...

She...

Luke...

She looked up to his eyes. His mouth hung open as he breathed slowly, steadily, watching her have her way with him. She smiled widely, then puckered her lips and blew him a smooch. When she looked back down, she was treated to the sight of a big, fat droplet of pre-cum, beaded right over the tip of her circumcised cock, so stiff it could barely even thrum. Her nostrils flaring, she gripped her prick tight around the base, brought it over, and wiped off her pre-cum against the tip of his cock, smearing her sap across the underside of his helmet. She could almost feel him quake - evidently, he had felt that. She looked up, her eyes so glazed, she looked half asleep.

With a grin, she mumbled "I haven't been this hard in a while...You turn me on like nobody else..." She let go of their cocks, leaned over far, and kissed his stomach, smudging him with her lipstick. Slowly, she pressed more as she climbed her way back up to his mouth, leaving lip marks all along the way. She could barely kiss his throat before he was taking her in his arms, rolling over, and putting the little demoness underneath himself, dwarfing her under his tall, muscular frame. She kissed his chin, encouraging him to keep going. She felt small...She felt safe. A hundred years of never getting what she wanted. A hundred years of giving other people what they wanted. Now, she had Luke...And he was everything she wanted. Needed.

Tears brimmed in her eyes, making her eyelashes shimmer. One of his hands gently rested over one of her breasts, giving the big, perky globe a gentle rubbing, teasing her chest until he was thumbing her pebble of a nipple. With how big they both were, with how stiff they were, there was no helping the way their batons would collide and rub against one another, the contact only serving to keep them as stiff as steel. Teardrops crept down from the corners of her eyes, running into her hair. No more hiding. She was sick of playing games. A century of sleeping with girls. A century of pretending so the other demons wouldn't laugh. A century of fighting what she wanted to do.

No more. No fucking more! She was gonna tame that monster cock, and she was gonna do it fucking tonight! She whimpered into his mouth, kissing him deeper. The milking waves clenching through her backdoor came faster and faster, none too subtly attempting to influence her decision making. It worked. Without realizing it, she started to shift her knees against the bedding, spreading them apart. Opening her thighs, raising her knees up higher and higher, her balls shifted down, one last shield to protect her maidenhood. Her tail quivered up between them until the spaded tip could press against his balls, lightly shifting around the malleable glob, teasing his reactors. Judging by the heady exhale he gave against her cheek, he didn't exactly dislike the move.

She nibbled his lower lip, grinning to herself. His hand went down from her bosom, making her draw in a gentle gasp when he felt down across her weeping claymore. She gave a hungry chuckle when his hand came to her fat orbs and paused, giving her hyperactive sperm factories a gentle rubbing with his fingertips. Then, he was going even lower, needing to gently shift her balls up before he could get to his true target. When she felt his fingerprint find her crinkle, she could only offer a long, quiet moan into his mouth, digging her tongue back in until she could invade him. Her stiff prick gave a couple numb thrums, hopping up and down with the tiniest throbs. That was the spot, soldier boy...Now that you've found it, what're you gonna do?

Slowly, her tail submissively receded, gently coiling itself around her left thigh like a snake, getting itself out of the way. When he pressed a little harder against her rosebud, gently rubbing her sphincter around in circles, she turned her head to the side, freeing up their mouths. Breathlessly, she instructed "Fuck...Use my pre like lube...Get some on your finger..." Luke didn't say anything, but he complied. He sat up on his knees, letting her turn her head back and watch him. She looked up at the bigger man, idly resting one of her hands over a breast, watching the way he smiled down at her so tenderly.

Gently wrapping his right hand around the base of her shaft, he lightly pressed his thumb against the bulge of her urethra, then milked his fist up until sap flowed out onto her tip. Although he didn't make a sound, she saw his mouth open a crack, earning a grin out of her. He brought his left hand up from under her and rubbed the print of his index finger against her swollen red tip, getting her natural syrup on his skin. Once he was satisfied, he eased his hand back down, let go of her cock, and pressed his finger back against her flexing ring. He started to push in, and her eyes locked on his prick, jutting from his loins like a big, blushing key, just waiting to slide right on in to a nice, tight lock...Her lock. Mercy...

She blinked, the glaze in her eyes subsiding. Wait, her lock? Her ass? Her eyes widened.

She could feel the flames, all over again.

Her penance!

Just as he was sliding his fingertip past her sphincter, she sucked in a gasp, surprising him with the intensity of it. No! Her penance! They couldn't go any further - she'd go straight to Hell, again! Another glow blasted from her eyes as she shot upright into a sitting position, throwing out a hand towards his face. Distract him, that's all she needed to do! Distract him, give him what he wants, stop him! If he puts it in, she's screwed! Caught off-guard by her response, his eyes widened. She stuck her thumb against his forehead, and the intense glow of her eyes cascaded into his, blasting him with her influence.

She could never control him. She could never compel him into doing anything. She could never implant suggestions in his mind, and she had learned not to bother trying a little while ago. However, that's not what she was up to, this time. Instead of giving or taking, she was showing. She forcibly flooded his mind with visions of sex, trying her best to show him everything she thought would get him off, everything she had thus far pieced together about his kinks...And maybe more. Even if the visions weren't tailored to his fantasies, she was still making an educated guess.

For a moment, it seemed to work. Only one moment. Luke's eyes went glassy as the scenarios played out before him, overloading his senses with the sights, the sounds, the scents...All of Erika.

She gets down on her hands and knees and sticks her big, thick ass up towards him, and he can't help but spread her cheeks. He drops his head and has at her demure little hole, while she just groans to herself as the bigger man has his fill of her ass. A moment later, he's standing, she's kneeling, and she's gagging hard on his long prick, deepthroating him as best she can while he holds her horns like handles. He pulls out and strokes free a messy load against her gasping mouth, letting the semen drip to her sweaty, heaving tits. Right after, he's putting her back on her hands and knees, violently pushing her face down into the pillow like the bitch she is.

"Oh, God," he groans, much to her delight. "You're a dream, Erika..." He lines his cock up with her defenceless ass, and she whines. When he pushes his tip to her ring, she whimpers, and...He answers her whimpers with...With "Enough." She doesn't understand. "Enough," he says. "Enough. Enough!"

"...I said, enough!" Luke's eyes abruptly sharpened, turning keen with indignation. Erika's eyes widened. The glow of compulsion died from her irises. Her jaw dropped. What? Luke's brow sank deep, and the way his teeth went on edge made her blood run cold. He rose to his feet in a flash, his hands clenching into fists at his sides. She squeaked and recoiled, dumbly watching him like a deer in headlights. Had he actually just broken free of the visions? How? In all her years as an incubus, nobody had ever been able to stop the visions!

The anger in Luke's eyes was real. Breathing a little hard, he snapped "You...Erika! What in God's name got into you? How dare you? How dare you? How could you just try to control me, like that? How could you stick something, something false onto me?" Erika quickly shook her head, hurriedly blurting out "I'm sorry! Luke, I'm sorry, I couldn't help it!" "Couldn't help it?!" He snapped back, narrowing his eyes. She raised her eyebrows high, reaching out, snatching his hands.

"Please, I'm sorry," she hurriedly confessed. She wasn't going to make the same mistake twice. She wasn't going to let him think he had wronged her, or hurt him by making him think she wasn't remorseful. "I...I couldn't help it, I got scared," she readily admitted. "I was scared of breaking my penance, I just...I freaked out, I really am sorry!" His fire quickly dimmed. He swiftly calmed his breathing. He looked down, then off to the side. The furrow in his brow lightened. "...I wouldn't have done anything you didn't want," he refuted, no longer raising his voice.

She tilted her head to the side, smiled shakily, shrugged, and remarked "That's exactly the problem. I wanted you to." He looked back into her eyes. His fire doused, entirely. A fatigued, remorseful look creeping up on his face, he slowly eased back down to his knees, kneeling in front of his penitent lover. Quietly, he mumbled "Erika, I can't believe you'd try that, on me...Me, of all people. I thought you were past trying to influence me. If you were scared, all you had to do was tell me to stop."

"I'm sorry," she repeated, rubbing his chest, hoping to assuage the wound she had inflicted. A sting began to fill her eyes. She couldn't stop herself from blabbering. "I'm so sorry for how I've been acting, today...I just...I realized something, last night." He watched her eyes. She couldn't meet his, trying to blink away her tears as she sightlessly looked around at the tent floor. Her voice tightening up, she blubbered "I care about you more than I've cared about anyone in ages, and I don't know how we're going to make it work!...With Balthazar after you, I can't see how we'll get out, in one piece! I d-don't know what to do!..."

She could only sniffle the one time before she felt him take her hand in his, over his chest. She finally managed to raise her eyes to his. The reassuring smile he was giving her undid the tension in her chest. When he began to raise her hand, she slowly started to look more and more confused. When she realized he was bringing her hand to his face, her eyes steadily began to widen. He gave her fingers a kiss, then touched her thumb to his forehead and waited. She didn't do anything. His eyes relaxing until they were half-closed, he smiled more, blinked, and said "Go ahead...See what I actually like. I'll let you in, this time."

She gave a blank blink. He smiled wider. His eyes relaxed. She couldn't help but swallow. "...Are you serious?..." She asked, prompting a nod out of the man. She started to smile. Huh. Well, okay...If he was serious. She'd be lying if she said she wasn't curious. She had always wanted this, for much different reasons, of course, but at least she was getting it. That he was consenting to it almost made it...Intimate. She watched his eyes as the golden glow from her own began to brighten his face. When she went to penetrate his mind, she didn't jab at nothingness, this time around. She didn't hit a wall. Instead, she dove in...

When his libido rushed into her, it wasn't as needy as the perverted little girls she had to prey upon. It was more serene. The rush to the stars was slower, but the way the euphoria flooded her body...Even though she couldn't feed off of him, feeling his libido was like a meal, all to itself. The desires and needs laid themselves bare, presenting themselves to her mind's eye. A great anticipation welled up inside her before she was only slowly subjected to his whims. Unlike her victims, she wasn't assailed by a flurry of secrets. There was no shameful lecherousness, waiting to break free. Luke was...Calmer. A babbling brook compared to the usual whitewater river.

These were his secrets?...

Girliness...Sweetness...Homoeroticism. The sunshiny girl in the flower dress, down the street. That cocky girly-boy across the street, so brave. A petite paramour he can hold in his arms and protect. A tender lovemaking session by candlelight...A gasping fuck on the dinner table. A lover with a big, squishy ass he can play with. A confident lover who isn't afraid to be the one to take control. Cumming on his lover's smiling face. Feeding his lover his cum. Feeling a real connection with somebody.

Anal sex, deep and slow, hard and fast. A stiff cock lifting up a short skirt. A dominant lover who isn't afraid to get a little rough to get what they want from him...The thrill of a forbidden tryst, of risking exposure. A confidence he lacks. A girl who can show her lust by squirting. A naughty girly-boy who can cum from getting it deep in their tailpipe...Without even touching their cock. Feeling wanted. Feeling needed. Tender, sensitive girly-boys, all over the place!

Erika had to drop her head as she regained control of her faculties. An intense shiver ran through her body, and slowly, that oozing sensation she had felt easing up her cock concluded in a thick, sticky, off-white bead, collecting right at her tip. Some so-called "secrets." She had expected...Darker skeletons, in his closet. Instead, what she had found...

She started to grin, wider and wider. When she raised her head back up to look at him, he could see the warmth in her eyes, like he had finally awarded her some long sought-after prize. Her face and even her ears were flushed red like a tomato, and a fine sheen of sweat was beginning to turn her skin glossy. She lightly bit on her bottom lip for a moment, then winked and mumbled "...Well, I guess it makes sense why we're at where we're at, now...That's some sexy stuff, Luke. Not very puritanical, at all. For shame."

His face started to flush. As he pulled her hand down from his forehead, he smiled and remarked "Well, I'm still human. Feeling, um...Urges is natural. It's what you do with them that counts." Erika closed her eyes to slits. Arching an eyebrow high, she gave him a wide, cocky smile, leaned in all the way until she had gone into kissing distance, and breathed "Natural, huh?...Does "natural" cover wanting to butt-fuck a pretty boy, like me? Does that cover blowing a big, thick load across somebody's face?...Does that include getting dominated? Heh heh. I knew you liked seeing me covered in cum. Not to mention the ass fixation...Naughty, naughty."

Having his own deepest desires openly recounted to him only made his blush worse. Quietly, he defended himself, murmuring "Well...You know, to be honest, Erika, I think some of those only showed up after I met you. You have that effect on people, I imagine." She grinned. What was all this, now? What, pray tell, was he trying to imply?...That she had perverted him, somehow? Well, then! If he wanted to be that way about it...It'd only be proper of her to step up and satisfy these new urges, wouldn't it?

Grabbing his shoulders, she laid herself back down into the bed, pulling him down overtop of herself until he was on all fours, again. If one of his greatest turn-ons was feeling wanted by somebody girly, then he had it, right there. No need to look any further. She raised her head and looked down between them, humming contentedly to herself. She was freely flowing pre-cum now, and she was pleased to see he hadn't gone soft, at all. In fact, he even had a little smear of sap across his tip, too...Delicious.

Short of breath, she splayed her thighs for a second time that night, opening them back up for her forbidden lover. Perspiring more and more from the lingering effect of touching his libido, she swallowed some excess saliva, then murmured "W-Where were we?..." He gave her an affectionate smile. As if everything between then and now hadn't even happened, he got some more of her pre-cum on his finger, brought it down to her pucker, freshly moistened her sweet little hole with her own nectar, and started easing his digit in.

"God, I've been such an asshole to you, today," she breathed out.

"Don't talk like that," he quietly chastised.

Erika did her best to relax, but she couldn't resist a quiet groan. He slid in fairly easily, and as soon as he was past her sphincter, as soon as he had entered her rump proper, her cock gave a big, hard twitch, throbbing over her belly with the rhythms of her heartbeat. She closed her eyes and basked in the sensation, and it wasn't long before she was melting under the big man's touch, reduced to mere putty in his attentive hands. He immediately went for her prostate, and considering how swollen the damn thing was, considering how heavy with semen it was, considering how sensitive it was, it wasn't hard for him to tell when he had found it.

Not only did he find a big, round, muscly bulge in her wall, nice and firm just to tease a man's cock, but the moment he had pressed his fingerprint against it, Erika grimaced, arched her back a little, and gave a loud, hard grunt. She opened her eyes and looked up at her lover, butterflies filling her stomach at the way he smiled, clearly trying not to grin. She gave a little groan to encourage him. When he pressed harder into her button and gave it a quick rub up and down, pre-cum belched from her tip, spattering a couple droplets against her quaking tummy. She gasped a cuss. Quietly, he asked "...You really need this, don't you?..."

"You have no idea," Erika panted, too far gone to even grin. Luke grinned enough for the both of them, still unable to keep his blush under control. She closed her eyes and took it as he broke her down. He kept massaging her button, slowly, firmly, working her spunk reservoir from inside her body. He rubbed up and down. He prodded it. He occasionally rubbed circles around it, stimulating it all around. When he figured that that was losing it's charm, he finally began to finger her, always ensuring he flipped her switch whenever he rocked his digit through her gulping pucker.

When he started to work his other hand, Erika stopped fighting her vocalizations. She filled the tent with her cries. She cursed him out for being so good at it, for knowing just how to work her weak spots. She gave steamy sighs, she moaned, she gasped. She even fidgeted, squirming under his ministrations. A hundred years...A century of abstaining, culminating in this. Worth it? Maybe not. A hundred years is a long fucking time. Definitely worth something, though. His finger was like magic...

He stroked his free hand down her tummy, right down to her cock. Feeling his big hand gently wrap around it immediately had her whimpering for mercy. God, don't do that, she'll pop! If he jerked her off while he was playing with her button, even slowly, she'd cum, and fast. He clued in, pretty quickly. The flexes in her ass gave it away. Instead of letting up on her bitch-switch, however, he just gave her cock some firm squeezes in his fist, then teased the tip by rubbing her pre-cum around, using it like lube as he diddled her helmet.

When she whimpered again, he eased his hand down to her sperm-bloated beanbag, rubbing his fingers off on her hot, smooth skin...Danger subsided, reactor meltdown averted. When she answered with a long, low groan, he pushed the teasing a little further. Cupping her oversized balls, he gave them a couple gentle squeezes, humming his appreciation. When he primed a second finger for entry, Erika's eyes crossed, a little. She couldn't help but grit her teeth and groan out "Fuck, yeah," which only had Luke giving her balls another little squeeze.

When he started to push in, she raised her knees higher, fingers clenching at the blankets beneath her. Her mouth hung open in a silent gasp until her tense pucker had yawned open wide enough, and then, he was driving his fingers in deeper, spreading her constricting channel until he had gotten back at her button. Firmly, he pressed his fingertips into it, vigorously wiggling them with fine back-and-forth movements, practically vibrating his digits against her P-spot. The doubled contact zone prompted a white-hot flare to go off through her crotch, a pillar of ecstasy from her prostate straight to the tip of her cock, an addictive sensation of squirting. Fuck, with the size difference between them, just his two fingers were stretching her like a cock!

Off-white sludge dripped from Erika's dilating urethra. She breathed in short, ragged gasps. When he raised his hand back up from her balls and took her by the cock again, she shut her eyes, pressed her lips tight together, and nearly squealed. No! Not there, not now! He milked her prick with the gentlest of movements, only slowly rocking his hand up and down, barely shifting her skin. Still, her ass began to flex, clamping down on his digits, pushing them even harder into her prostate. Her balls drew up tight, preparing to fire. Erika gave a long, high-pitched whine to warn him, her legs uncontrollably trembling, her toes flexing.

Luke took the hint, speeding up his stroking to maximize her stimulation, jerking her long, fat cock while he angled it up towards her. Erika opened her unfocused eyes, raised her head, and looked down. Her heels kicked. She gave the tiniest squeak right before a long, thick lance of bitch-batter flung itself clear across her body, flying free until the rope collided straight into her face, splashing her over the mouth. Her eyes started to roll back. Luke immediately gasped and pointed her cock back upright, hurriedly saying "Oh God, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to do that!"

Erika was just a little too preoccupied to register what he had said. The hot, sticky splash against her mouth, now running down her chin to her throat, seeping between her lips in the process, only made her give a long, harsh groan of satisfaction, making her drop her head back down as she submitted to the feeling. The gunky lust that had built up in her system kept spilling free, and jet after pearly jet of alabaster seed shot up, fell down, and splattered her tummy, pooling into her navel, slipping down her hips. If he could do this with just his fingers, then...

After several seconds, the jets finally slowed to a trickle, and then, Erika was done, panting in the afterglow. She opened her bleary eyes and looked up at the big man kneeling between her legs, flashing him a breathless smile when she saw the addled look on his face. Oh, he had liked that, huh? Well, there was plenty more where that came from...He kept milking her cock for a few moments, trying to get out every drop. The other hand slowly withdrew until he could slip his invaders free from her wildly clenching ass, giving her backdoor a chance to settle down before her own clenching could make her sore.

She purred right into a giggle as he milked a couple more droplets from her meat, helplessly running down to flow across his fingers. God, she had needed that...Her eyes uncontrollably locked on his cock, looking painfully stiff as it jutted from his lap. It was right there, just waiting for her. Slowly, her glazed eyes were mesmerized by his twitches, her mouth relaxing until her lips were just a tiny "o." Oh, God...His dick...Stupidly fucking big, thick, and needy...Needy because of her. He needed it, too. She could feel it, already.

Better than his fingers, going so deep, so hot, so hard...The bigger man panting as he had his way with her little tailpipe...No. As she had her way with him, using her naughty little hole. Yeah...He'd like that, wouldn't he? She'd cum so hard, she'd probably plaster his face...Hot, hard timber, rocking through her ass...Drool started to collect in Erika's mouth. Her pupils dilated to wide ovals. She couldn't take it, anymore. She just couldn't. No more. No more anything. She wanted it. She needed it. Him. Please, Luke...

She sat up, but instead of kissing him like he expected, she grabbed him by the shoulders, pulled him to the side, and put him down on his back. Swallowing her drool, breathing hard, eyes a little wide, she didn't waste time. She straddled his waist, humping her stiff prick into his, uncontrollably smearing him with some of her spilled slop. Then, she was raising her hips, reaching down, and pointing him up towards herself, sitting down until his hot, flared tip was pressing right up against her tight ring. When he felt the little folds of her pucker touch his end, he immediately perked up, looking at her in surprise.

She gave him a big smirk and pressed one hand against his chest, keeping him down. She gave a breathless chuckle. "I don't care anymore," she insisted. "I wanna, Luke. You've had it coming for so fucking long! If Balthazar's gonna take me back down to Hell no matter what I do, then I'm gonna spend the whole goddamn night fucking you with my ass until I've drained those big balls of your's, you got that?" His face flushed deeper as his eyes widened. Erika raised her eyebrows and gave him a Cheshire grin. "Oh, you think I'm exaggerating," she taunted. "I'm a sex demon, idiot; you just got fucked. Well, not literally, but...The night's young..."

He gulped, which only had her purring. She wiggled her hips left and right for a few moments, teasing his tip with her rosebud...And then, ever so slowly, she was pushing her hips down, trying to sit in his lap like a good little girl. She wasn't just tight, back there. The size difference between them should've made the concept of backdoor shenanigans a bit of a joke, but Erika was nothing if not a glutton. Feeling her tight, tiny little ring, barely lubricated and pressing down against the crown of his cock, had him shutting his eyes and grunting. She nodded her chin up at him, grinning at the reactions she could goad out of him so easily. "Say my name, big guy..."

He quietly groaned the answer, just like she wanted. She grinned from ear to ear, playfully bouncing her hips up and down, forcing his hot pole to repeatedly poke her. "That's right," she murmured. "Erika. Erika's gonna make you a stud, tough guy. That's right, it's finally gonna happen. We've cooked for long enough. The foreplay isn't good enough, anymore. First, though...Let's get you nice and slippery, and I know just the way to do it..." She chuckled through a grin, reaching out and giving one of his nipples a tweak before dismounting off of his prick.

She sat down over his thighs, then unabashedly began to run her hands across her belly, smearing her hands with the goo of her prior orgasm, courtesy of mister paladin and his scandalously adept handling of an incubus' despoiler. Once she was satisfied that her palms and fingers were slimy enough, she gave him a big, smug smile and wrapped both hands around his prick, wiping her own cum off on his cock. He immediately flinched, and although he looked a little uncomfortable, he just couldn't tear his eyes away. Erika watched him with bedroom eyes, trying not to giggle at him. Poor guy probably couldn't decide whether to be turned on or off, but ultimately, he closed his eyes, shuddered, and mumbled "O-Oh, God..."

She grinned, working her fists like a couple of pumps, spreading her cream from root to tip. Filling the tent with a nasty "shlick-shlick-shlicking," she clicked her tongue at him, chastising him with a light "Now now, Luke. Don't blaspheme. You should know better than that." When she started rotating her fist around his tip, mercilessly playing with his most sensitive spot, he gave a shiver and opened his eyes, watching her work her magic. After a few more moments of teasing, she beamed him a smile, let go of his broad pole, and wiped her hands off on his stomach, further marking him as her conquest. A paladin, slimed with incubus nut...Somehow, it didn't feel like too much of a sin, anymore.

Grinning to herself, giddy on adrenaline, she raised her hips and shifted forwards once more, priming herself for some love. A quick adjustment of his angling had his cum-lubed tip kissing her crinkle, and after planting her hands down against his stomach, the diminutive incubus gazed down at him, rocking her hips around to some hidden musical beat only she could hear. She gave him a big, contented smile, her eyes sultry slits as she reached a hand up and curled a finger through her bangs, clearing her hair from her eyes. Her voice a murmur, she said "I'm so sorry for how I've treated you, today...You deserved better. Don't plan on sleeping, tonight."

She shrugged with her eyebrows. With a wink, she asked "You ready?" His glazed eyes dropped from her's to her puffy, lipstick-coated lips, then to her heaving bust, her abs, her thick triangle of pubic hair...And finally, jutting up over his stomach from between those nice, thick thighs of her's, that blushing horn of meat, the thick, veiny violator of a demon, with balls so big he couldn't even see how his cock touched her body. His eyes went back up to her's before he silently nodded. She puckered her lips and smooched at him. Time to take the plunge.

Just the thought had her balls tingling, but the nervous quiver in her stomach kept her rooted. After decades of craving something she could never have, after agonizing over her penance for so long...After nearly a century of putting up with the need tensing her loins...After nearly a century of satisfying everybody's needs but her own...She could finally let go and do it right. Nearly a century of needing a man in her life, only to be forced to feed upon women. Nearly a century of self-restraint. "Do as thou wilt." No need to tell her twice. This was what she had always wanted. Was God watching? Let Him strike her down where she sat, if He didn't like the show.

She started to ease her hips down. Her heart quickly began to pound as the slippery pressure mounted against her rosebud. Her cock thrummed, twitching to and fro. The smile faded from her face. She gazed at him, blushing red like a cherry. When he turned his head to the side with a hiss of a gasp, she immediately gave him a piranha grin, flashing him her fangs. She kept easing her hips down, feeling him push into her, her own cum serving to grease her hinges, forcing her to make way. And then, after a couple moments...It happened.

He grunted. She squeaked a groan and shut her eyes. His tip popped through her sweet little maidenhood, entering the incubus' silky bottom. Her penance. Her penance. This...Was it.

Erika's eyes, half-closed and tearful, began to radiate a warm, golden glow. Her mouth barely hung open. It was exactly like she had always imagined...Felt good. Butterflies filled her stomach. God fucking damn it, feeling something fill her void was just so fucking satisfying. Now that he was inside, the progress was so much easier, and she slowly began to slide herself down onto his manhood, easing in an inch, then two.

He gave a quiet groan and opened his eyes, looking up at her. She grinned. That's right, mister paladin...The time had finally come. After stewing together for days, weeks, it had finally happened. She was taking you all the way. You were breaking her penance, her eternal vow, her sacrifice to be a demon. That meant something, like it or not. You were her's, now. No ifs, ands, or buts about it. Once she went deep enough, she abruptly screwed her eyes shut, giving the tiniest gasp through her nose as she winced.

Oh, fuck! Was that it? That was it, wasn't it? That was the spot! Fucking hell, that was electric! Calling it a weak spot was an understatement! As soon as his tip pushed into and slid past her prostate, fresh pre-cum bubbled from her cock as it gave a hearty bounce, bobbing up as the incubus' special spot got that hot, soft contact it had so desperately needed. Erika gave a couple gentle huffs, then hissed out "Ffffuck, there it is..." Luke took on a breathless smile, stroking his hands up her thighs until he could hold her near her hips.

She moved her hands up from his stomach to his chest, then leaned forwards a little, angling his cock just a little bit towards his stomach. That way, some succulent anal cowgirl wouldn't be quite so rigorous. Plus, it'd bring her tits closer to his face, and that was always a fun time, so where was the harm? She opened her eyes again, letting the glow of compulsion fade from them. She watched his face as she sank a little deeper, feeding his inches into her hungry ass until she had to stop and groan. Fuck, how many inches were left? She knew he was a big guy, and not just down there, but he felt like a horse was having their way with her!

She turned her head down, brought a hand over, shifted her cock and balls aside, and groaned. Aw, fuck. She had only taken four or five inches. Jesus Christ, it almost felt like somebody were fisting her, for crying out loud. Excuse her for not being six foot whatever, like big boy, over here. He was already unreasonably big, especially for a holy man, but with her short stature, he only felt twice as long, twice as thick. Still...Erika started to grin with determination. She had her pride to think of. She was a sex demon, damn it. Maybe not for much longer, but for now, it still counted.

If she could get all those girls to take her ten inches, how hard could it be for her to take eleven? She just needed a little determination, that's all! She let go of her bits, curled her lip up, and started to sit down a bit further, but she pretty quickly changed her mind about the whole affair. She took another two inches, then by God, her ass started to feel really crammed up. Big bastard was probably snaking into her colon, by then. Panting a little, she glanced skyward as sweat dripped down her forehead. Let's...Let's not break the bank on the first investment. She'd have other opportunities to violate the righteous paladin with her pillowy ass. Let's just focus on getting that inaugural cream filling, she decided.

Luke snapped her out of her thoughts by breathlessly exclaiming "I can't believe we're doing this!..." She grinned, gave a chortle, and remarked back "That's my line, lover boy." She watched his face with a grin as she leaned forward over him, slowly sliding out some of the timber packing tight her poor little hole. The pressure grinding across her prostate made her give a quiet grunt, prompting tingles to lightly rush through her body, flowing from her back to her front. She flexed her ass against him, making her prostate rise and crush against the upperside of his cock, earning a groan from the man. She grinned wider and flexed a couple more times, humming to herself. He liked that, huh?...

God, he stretched her good...She eased her hips back down, nibbling on her lip as she fed his inches back inside, the goopy warmth of her own cum only making his prick boil all the hotter. He took a firmer hold of her waist, earning a hum of approval from her. "Yeah," she murmured, "squeeze my hips. That's right..." Her wings folded close behind her, while her tail slowly uncoiled from around her thigh. The smooth appendage dipped down between his legs, gently swishing left and right, helplessly playing across his skin. She started up a steady rhythm, rocking her body back and forth against his, grinding his holy sceptre around inside her forbidden depths.

She closed her eyes and groaned. Oh, fuck...After so long, she could finally feed her tush the cock it had so desperately craved. That hot, pulsating battering ram, pulverizing her girly hole, tenderizing her special spot, made slick with her own spunk...She shivered and hung her head down, smiling as she tried to keep her lips from quivering. Her tears made her mascara streak in black rivulets. Screw Balthazar. Forget her penance. She was tired of pretending. This was too good to stop. As his length kept massaging her button, she couldn't help but groan. She could practically feel him pushing the sap out of her, flowing it through her to drip from her end...Right to his muscular stomach. This was gonna be a messy one, she could already tell.

She picked up her pace a little more, bouncing a little more thoroughly against his lap, letting her heavy balls drag around below his navel. She gave a husky hum as she closed her eyes and hung her head down. Her rosebud was starting to complain, thanks to her increased tempo. Her ring was starting up a little ache, thanks to the reaming she was giving herself. That was okay; give it enough time, she'd adapt. On the inside, things were different. On the inside, his stirring stick was turning her into a mushy fuck-hole, a sweet, satiny glove fitting just right around his manhood, quivering in delight from the stuffing it was getting.

When he gave a quiet, tense moan, helplessly flexing his cock inside her, she delicately shushed him, laying a finger across his lips. "Our little secret," she breathed. She stroked the back of her finger across his jaw, then planted it back over his chest. Starting to smile, she put the pumping on pause and started up some grinding, instead, wagging her hips around as she clenched her backdoor. He winced in ecstasy, grimacing just the way she liked. "Don't you cum, now," she softly chastised. "However long you think you've been waiting, I've been waiting longer. Make the first time count, man...Make me cum, and then I'll let you pop..."

He gave a guttural groan at the instructions, much to her giggling glee. Oh, he just loved it when she told him what to do, didn't he? She lightly gyrated her hips forwards and backwards as she bounced, trying her best to make him collide against her special spot, loving the way his heartbeat throbbed against her own. She grinned and leaned over onto her elbows, freeing up her hands...Which she promptly laid over his eyes, blinding him. His mouth hung open, a little. She snickered, then dropped her head between her arms, found one of his nipples with her lips, and lapped her tongue across it.

In a lilt, she murmured "Who's a good little paladin? Mm, you are..." When she dropped her hips a little harder, he went deeper than usual, poking into her somewhere deep inside. She instantly grunted, grimaced, and put her hands back down against his chest, sitting herself back up. When he opened his eyes and looked at her, he found the winged incubus slowly opening her own, dilated pupils looking up at him from behind heavy lids. She gave a breathless smile, her lips parted just a crack, her breaths washing out against him in hot puffs. The heat trapping inside the tent prompted a droplet of sweat to roll down the side of his face. God, she looked good...

She teased him for his staring by blowing against his face, tittering to herself when he shut his eyes. She smiled from ear to ear when he opened his eyes. Under her breath, she murmured "Cuh...Careful, slugger, you might break me..." She could almost see a light go off, behind his eyes. Without warning, he began to sit up a little, hurriedly bringing his face to her's. "Never," he breathed, mashing his lips to her's. Her eyelids flickered shut as he pushed his tongue between her lips. His hands flew off of her hips and found her ass, grabbing her juicy halves tight enough to sink his fingers into her spongy flesh. Now, they were close enough that her tits couldn't help but press against him.

Holding her still by that big, thick tush of her's, he started thrusting up against her, jolting her body until she grabbed his shoulders and held on for the ride. She furrowed her brow for a few moments, moaning tensely into his mouth, trying her best to keep her eyes from rolling back. Oh, fuck, he was ramming the spot so hard, she was tingling like crazy! She would've grit her teeth, if not for his tongue. Her chin trembled as her balls roiled. Something was coming. Something was flowing through her. She was getting close, her ass was flexing uncontrollably, crushing her girly P-spot against his big cock. He was pounding the fucking cum right out of her!

She couldn't stop panting through her nose. Tears of ecstasy brimmed in her eyes. Every time he humped up into her, her fat balls would press between them, while her turgid length would slap against his belly, smearing him with more of her sap. He finally stopped kissing her, letting her wrap her arms around his shoulders, nuzzling part of her face into his collarbone. It hurt, in more ways than one. How much of him was she taking, now? Enough to melt her mind, at least. The adrenaline made her quake like a dying leaf, clinging to it's mother branch. She had actually done it. She had broken her penance.

She squeezed his shoulders tighter. She opened her eyes, but now, she couldn't stop them from quivering up into her skull. She could feel it, back there. Her magic spot was feeling better, tensing up, priming. More tears trickled down her cheeks. She silently gasped, a couple times. Luke grunted by her ear - he was getting close. Her pouty lips quivered.

"I..."

Luke turned his head a little, giving the side of her neck a kiss. Erika could feel the dribble burbling from her tip. She screwed her eyes shut and tried to hold it off, but all that did was make her clench her ass around the pole skewering her...Forcing Luke's tip to jam right against her special spot, on a particularly deep thrust. She squeaked, held her breath, and let her mouth hang open.

"I...I'm gonna fuckin' cum!"

She couldn't control her own strength. She forced Luke down to the bedding, laying him down until he was forced to let go of her ass. Erika, an exhilarated smile on her face, ordered "Watch me" as she started rocking her hips, hard. Luke couldn't help but raise his head and do as she bade, but feeling that tight, muscular glove massaging his length was kicking him over the edge. What he saw was the straw that broke the camel's back. Erika's mouth hung open as she gave a high-pitched moan, an effeminate whimper. Her horn of meat, so flushed with need, so stiff with lust, began to ooze a sludge that shifted from transparent to white. It flowed slowly, running thick to his stomach before her cock flexed, prompting it to hop.

As soon as it hopped, it sneezed. Erika gave a high, shuddering coo as lances of baby-batter fired across Luke's chest, streaking clear across his body in wet, messy splats. Three shots, four ropes, five spills...She just kept going, those dense balls of her's helplessly draining themselves on the bigger man's body. She watched, as did he, both transfixed until one lance hit Luke's chin, forcing him to drop his head, shut his eyes, and groan. Erika started to give an open-mouth grin, her eyes wide and lost. Time almost seemed to slow down. The feeling of getting a reaming while she was cumming...Oh, God...She couldn't even stop. She just kept bouncing.

At least...She kept bouncing until he groaned harder, tensed up more than usual, and started throbbing around inside her ass. The first spew of his consecrated seed flung itself with such force, she practically felt the thud, deep inside herself. She froze up, sitting down as far as she comfortably could on his monster cock, grinding her hips around to stir his ladle through his own soup. The frothy cream her cum-lube had been reduced to was freshly thickened with his own hot spunk. She watched his face, panting, grinning, watching the way his expression contorted, loving the way his legs helplessly shifted, a little, underneath her.

He gave a heavy sigh once he was finished. She bit her lip. She didn't move from her spot over his lap. She stayed right there, simply flexing her ass against him, milking him little by little, gulping against his prick, ensuring he stayed hard. She waited until he had opened his eyes again, looking up at her with a warm, if fatigued, smile. She grinned. Eyes half-closed, she purred down at him. One hand playfully trailed shapes across his stomach with a fingernail. Without a word, she reached over, took one of his hands, and brought it over to her lap, inviting him to touch her. Guiding his movements, she had him squeeze her cock a little and pull up along it, milking out the salty slop lingering in her cum-vein, dripping it out to his stomach.

Then, she was raising his hand to her mouth, holding it still as she gave his fingers a couple kisses, a couple flicks with her tongue. Watching his eyes all the while, she eventually breathed out a very simple "...Thank you." His smile widened, but he didn't seem to know what to actually say in response. After a moment, Erika arched an eyebrow, smiled wider, and murmured "No more virginity for mister paladin, over here. You're a man, now." With a hungry chuckle, she remarked "I told you I'd be the one to pop your cherry. You've had this coming, you big...Ya big cuddly bear."

"Cuddly bear?" He repeated, raising an eyebrow. She grinned, then started raising her hips. She gave a long exhale in the process, trying to relax her naughty love tunnel, and once he had slipped free, she gave a quiet grunt. He raised his head and looked down. What a sight...Her lingering hard-on, way too stiff to calm down any time soon, hanging heavy above her full beanbag. Hanging back towards his stomach, just below her balls, was his cum-smeared length, still giving the occasional twitch...The occasional drip.

Her breathing starting to escalate all over again, she eyed his slimed chest with glazing eyes. Trying not to pant like a lecher, she mumbled "God...I came so hard. Lots of lube for another round..." Her eyes darted up to his. He looked a little surprised. She grinned and tried not to cackle. "I told you," she blurted out, "we're going all fucking night, baby! You think I'm fine with just one?! Hell no! Take me doggy, this time! Fuck me from behind, make me squirt all over this fucking bed! C'mon, let's go, big guy!" Giggling to herself, she crawled over, dismounting him just far enough to get on her hands and knees at his side.

She looked back over her shoulder so hard her hair swung. He watched her ass with steadily widening eyes. Smeared white deep between her cheeks, her poor, tenderized sphincter had been left in a tiny gape, a dark passage that flexed with confusion, and right before his very eyes, even began to leak a white froth...His white froth. He gulped. She watched him rise to his knees, just behind her. He reached out and took her hips, just the way she liked. She put a hand over one of his, and a moment later, he had shifted his hand, letting the two of them thread fingers.

The move surprised her, at first. Then, she was squeezing his hand a little, hanging her head down, and groaning, hard. Back to the grind...

When Erika said she had wanted to go all night long, she hadn't been exaggerating. By the end of it, they were both thoroughly exhausted, utterly drained, rather sore in a few places, and falling asleep with the sunrise peeking through the corners of the tent. The tent, their private sanctuary, their retreat, had been pretty thoroughly saturated in the scent of sweat and semen, and no doubt soldier boy would take it upon himself to drag his bedding down to the river and wash it out, following a proper rest. Hey, maybe she'd even join him. You know, she wouldn't mind scrubbing him down...Lord knew they both needed it. "Sticky" was apt.

There they were, deep in the afterglow...Too deep for Luke to still be awake, the poor thing. Meanwhile, Erika was, yet again, still awake as he slumbered on, only this time, she hadn't intentionally feigned sleep to have a moment to herself. She fully intended to catch some shuteye, and she could already feel it creeping up on her, but she still needed a little more time to catch her breath. Suited her fine. She had plenty of issues in her mind to collate, organize, and shelf. Perhaps ironically, very few of these actually had to do with her broken penance, strictly speaking. They were more about how much fun she had had. How much time she had left. The things she'd miss. By comparison, the simple fact that her penance had been broken was a mere footnote.

There she lay, snuggled up on her side against Luke's own, one of his arms for her pillow, a hand on his chest. This was one of the things she'd miss, she thought: the feel of his skin, the warmth of his body, these private moments in his tent. The thought slowly had her tearing up. They had only had a couple of them, and now, they were going to go away. Again, she thought, that sick bastard could never just let anything good last. He giveth, and He taketh away...He taketh away a whole damn lot. With her penance broken, it wouldn't be long until some other demon figured her out. She'd give off that uneasy vibe. She'd have that smell. The scent of betrayal.

Erika languidly blinked teardrops away, letting them fall to Luke's arm. Would she even have the time to help him fight off Balthazar's pet demon? If she didn't, would he be able to survive on his own? If he won, would Balthazar leave him alone, or would he continue pursuing him out of sheer spite? Her eyes shifted up to Luke's sleeping face. She supposed he had won their little battle of wills. He hadn't redeemed her, but he had gotten her to break her penance. That had taken some real doing. Then again...She was selling herself short. Look at everything she had gotten Luke to do. Look at how much she had gotten him to care.

She smiled, to herself. She could settle for a tie. She closed her eyes with a weary sigh. If she didn't have the time to protect Luke one last time, then his fate was in God's hands...Lucky Luke. Look at how much good God had propagated, thus far. You know, if she really thought about it, you could almost say this was one last "Fuck you" from the man upstairs. Let her go to Hell, watch her be a demon for close to a century, then send Luke her way...Only to have her break her penance with him and threaten to tear them apart. She screwed her eyes shut tighter. What kind of God would let that happen? Before going to Hell, she never would've wanted to believe it.

And yet...Regardless...Luke's life could've been in His hands. Was He even paying attention?

Erika's eyes glistened more. She nuzzled her mouth into Luke's arm, right near the shoulder, kissing him just the once. He was so deep under, he was practically snoring. He'd never know she'd done this. She could deny it all she wanted. Maybe it'd help. She let her eyes close. She slid her hand over from his chest, touching her thumbnail to her lips. By some ancient muscle memory, she almost anointed herself with the sign of the cross, but she caught it and abstained. Maybe it didn't count as a real prayer, maybe it was just an internalized monologue, but she started speaking in her head, and if He just so happened to be listening, then...So be it.

"...Okay...Let's try that again. It's me, Erika. I still don't really know what to say, but Luke wanted me to give it another whirl. Now's a good time. Uhh...Where do we start? I guess...I guess I should thank you for him, at least. He's good to me. He believes in me. He should hate me, but he has faith in me. He should've tried killing me the second he saw me, but he went against his orders...For me. And, all he's been trying to do ever since then is make me see that I can still be saved, even though I already have the horns and wings.

He wants to prove to me, over everyone else, that I'm not a monster. He's a good guy. He's a sweetheart...And, he's better than I deserve. So, thanks for sending him my way, regardless. I regret treating him the way I did, when we first met. I just...Couldn't wrap my head around the idea that somebody would actually care after all this time, especially a paladin, of all things. But, he was damn stubborn about the whole thing...I'm glad he was. If he wasn't as stubborn as every other paladin, none of this would've happened. As much crap has happened, there's been good, too. Lots of...There's no words...

I don't know why you did what you did, but you had better have a damn good reason for it, because from where I'm sitting, it looks like your mortal warrior has more compassion and love in him than you do. He's been going so far to try and save me, and...Fuck, now I'm tearing up, again. I don't deserve him. Thank you for sending him to me. You better not let anything bad happen to him - you better protect him like you wouldn't, for me. I don't know if I'll be there to do it, myself. I care about him, more than I've cared about anything in a long time. He's special. I don't know.

What I do know is, don't try to punish him for the same thing you punished me for, or else...I'm gonna find a way up there and put some questions to you, personally. Please, just look after him. He's officially walking a finer line than I am, right now. Shouldn't you, of all people, agree that love conquers all barriers? So what if I'm a demon and he's a paladin. Can't we make it work? I haven't been able to stop thinking about him ever since I first met him. He...I want to be better for him, you know? Nobody's believed in me in so long. He's even got me praying, here. He's a pain in the ass, but his heart is in the right place. You owe him one. You owe it to him to protect him. He did the hard work you didn't seem to want to.

Alright? Are we square? I don't forgive you for what happened to me, and I'll never forgive you if you let anything happen to Luke. That's a vow. If you want to start making it up to me, you can keep him safe, for me...Amen."

She didn't open her eyes. Taking in a sniffle, she slipped her arm across his body, holding him close like a big, warm pillow. Sweet dreams, Luke...You big cuddly bear. Come nightfall, you'll both have a big problem to contend with. Something tall...Something hungry.

~~End of Ch. 7~~

Chapter 8: God Wills It

Chapter Text

Incubus Erika

Part III ‑ "Wingless"

By: Jesse Racine AKA Samson

Original Date Written: March 1, 2017

There Erika was, sleeping soundly, deep in an ironically amazingly restful snooze given the events of the previous night, when she was rather rudely jolted away by the harsh, abrupt jerking upright by one paladin Luke, who quietly gasped through his nose as if startled awake by some night terror. She immediately screwed her eyes shut and willed this all to be some crummy nightmare that would pass - God damn it, did she hate being woken up early. She heard Luke softly breathe "...Oh, God. Erika. Erika." She gave a harsh sigh, rolling over to turn her back to him, huddling up in a ball. In an exhausted, slurred mumble, she remarked "You...Nng...Fuckface...Go back to sleep..."

She felt his hand come over under the covers, touching her hip. His tone was insistent. "Erika, please, what did we do last night? Did we actually...? No, please." Erika couldn't help but snicker, albeit tiredly. Why the second thoughts? He had seemed pretty damn into it, at the time. Hell, that was half the reason why she had gotten so into it, too. Everything had just felt...Right. Like all the pieces had aligned, for the both of them. Too exhausted to even yawn, she merely mumbled "We fucked like jackrabbits, man." She felt his hold on her hip gently tighten, but his tone more noticeably grew panicked. "But, your penance-!"

She impatiently cut him off. She almost wanted to pull the pillow over her head. "Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, you're more worried about this than I am. Just rub one out of your holy water spritzer and go back to bed, already-"

"Erika, I'm serious," he snapped.

A shudder ran through her body, after a moment. Well, she was awake, now. That firm kind of tone in his voice...She wasn't used to hearing that. Really knocked the wind out of her sails. Maybe for good reason. That jolt awake, he had had...It made a little more sense, now. Somewhat stiffly, she rolled over onto her other side, turning to face him. Besides a melancholy look in her eyes, her expression was placid. The same couldn't be said of him. He looked tense, wound up, sweat shimmering on his forehead. Watching her eyes, he quietly murmured "Your penance..." She gave a slow blink. Her lips barely moved. "...I know," she murmured, just a little quietly, just a little soberly. No need to remind her.

Luke's brow knit up. She could see a glimmer working it's way into his eyes. "Why didn't you stop me," he asked, despaired. The faintly accusatory tone slipping into his voice made her eyes widen, a touch. How hard was he taking this? Did he feel guilty? It took two to tango, it's not like the responsibility was all his. She offered a little smirk, her lips barely twitching to the side as one corner of her mouth hardly flickered up, then fell back down. "Because I knew you wanted to," she candidly answered, "and because I wanted to, too. That, most of all. I needed it. Almost a hundred years of needing it. Do you have any idea what that's like?"

She gently shook her head, some of her fiery locks shifting on either side of her face in the process. "We didn't make a mistake, Luke. I'm tired of playing by the rules. If I had wanted to stop you, I would've. I almost did. If you had wanted to stop me, you would've...You almost did, when I acted like a jerk." Her answer seemed to reassure him somewhat, but not enough to completely calm him down. Quietly, he mumbled the same old sentiment: "But, your penance!...It's broken, now!" She gently raised her eyebrows. A little quietly, just a little soberly, she repeated the same two words: "I know." The shine in his eyes was intensifying, and now, he was having difficulty looking at her. She reached over, found one of his hands, and squeezed. Why was he acting like this was all his fault?...

"I'm not afraid," she offered. She hoped she came across sincere, but in her current state, she had probably only come across indifferent. She couldn't help but close her eyes and rest her head back down against the pillow. There were so many things she could've said, then and there. So many she wanted to say. A dozen different ways to express herself, each in the same vein but just different enough that she wanted them all. No time. Before she could slip away, before that moment of ominous silence could creep up on her and force her to black out, she settled on murmuring "You make me feel human, Luke...I didn't care, anymore. You were worth it."

There was just a moment's pause, but in her state, that felt like ten. Then, his hand was touching her arm. At last, he was easing back down deeper under the covers, apparently intent on snuggling her. Later on, then...If he needed more clarification, they could do it later on.

The next time she opened her eyes, most of the daylight hours had already zoomed by. The walls of the tent were a bit bright, and over the faint whistle of a light breeze, the sounds of birds and insects filled the air, surrounding their little sanctuary with the chorus of nature still in the throes of spring. She closed her eyes and offered a warm exhale, rolling over onto her back, putting her side to Luke's. Well, here she was. The beginning of a new day, the start of her first day with an officially broken penance. After last night's romp, the thing had been so pulverized, even gluing it back together would've been laughable. No, she had broken the rules, alright...The one rule. She had one job: spread Hell's influence, feed upon women, and don't touch men.

For so long, that had seemed feasible. Fair, even. For the sexual caste, life was simple. High price, but the reward was just as valuable. As she looked over at Luke's sleeping face, however, she was reminded of the simple truth he had pointed out, the previous night: she couldn't do what she wanted. She was still leashed. Funny...It had taken a paladin, of all people, to wake her up to how heavy the old shackles had gotten. She had tried to make the best of a bullshit situation, but in the end, what had been the difference between being a demon and being a goody two-shoes? Both had kept her from chasing after men. Both sides collared her. Being a demon, at least, had kept her out of hot water, but now...Now, she was right back in it, more scalding than ever. The clock was ticking.

He drew in a deeper than usual breath. She started to smile as he stirred, rolling over onto his side, facing her. She watched his eyes until they began to ease open, finding her's. Her eyes still barely open by that point, she gave him a sweet little smile. Her voice was just above a whisper as she murmured out a very simple "...Hey..." The warm greeting, so casual after the previous night's events, had him smiling widely, exhaling an amused huff of a breath through his nose. Just as lightly, he answered "Hey, you..."

He shifted his eyes to the tent walls, perhaps trying to get a sense of the time before sticking his head out and subjecting himself to the light. As his eyes moved back to her's, he barely raised an eyebrow, stifling a yawn as he asked "Did you just wake up?" She gave a languid blink alongside half a nod, humming a curt "Mhm. Just a minute ago." His eyebrow settled back down. His smile relaxing somewhat, he ventured to ask "So, uh...How do you feel, after last night? I think I'm still trying to wrap my head around it. All things considered...That wasn't a small thing. For either of us, I think." Erika raised her eyebrows and gave him a big, amused smile. Well, look at him, busting out the understatement of the century.

Trying not to crack up, she playfully avoided a direct answer, instead remarking "Y'know, as much as I hate to admit it, I think you might've been on to something with the whole "constantly calling me a succubus" thing. I mean, let's face it: you're eleven inches big, and I'm a heck of a lot shorter than you." She grinned so wide, her fangs were exposed. Chuckling, she added "You shouldn't have been able to get even, like, four inches in. Anal sex should've been damn near impossible, at least with you playing the top. We're practically physically incompatible!" With a wink, she quipped "But that didn't stop me, eh? I gulped you up, lover boy. Maybe I am a succubus!"

He gave her joking a flat, if bantering, face. "Hardy har har," he drawled back, obviously resisting a smile. Her grin relaxed back to an impish smile. She rolled over onto her side as well, the thick, messy locks of her red hair falling across her forehead as she faced him, bringing the two of them close enough to feel each other's breath. Letting her eyes ease halfway closed, she gave a crafty hum, raising a hand to his face before playfully tapping the end of a finger against his nose, giving him a boop. "I don't think I need to ask, but I'm gonna do it, anyway, since it'll be just so sweet to hear you admit it," Erika remarked, her voice a little low. He raised an eyebrow.

With a little titter, she gazed into his eyes as she purred "You had fun last night, eh?" He smiled, but there was a weariness to it, a resignation to his eyes. He drew in a breath, his eyes momentarily dropping to her lips before he exhaled "Yeah...Yeah, I really did..." "Me too," she murmured, smirking high. They both went quiet for a few seconds, and eventually, smirk fading, Erika simply added "...I don't regret a thing." Luke barely nodded. He, too, began to lose his smile. She watched his eyes for a couple seconds, waiting for him to say something. Whatever was on his mind, he didn't see fit to let her in on his thoughts. After another short silence, Erika, a more sober look having crept up on her, murmured "...I don't know how long we have before things get serious."

Luke's teeth momentarily went on edge. His voice low, he asked "Do you think Balthazar already knows your penance is broken?" Erika drew in a breath, her expression opening up as she raised her eyebrows. The inhale quickly turned into a yawn, forcing her to close her eyes. When one of his hands found the side of her head, she was still mid-yawn, and couldn't do much besides lie there as he leaned in and kissed her forehead. As her yawn ended, she smiled a little, grabbed the edge of the blanket, and wearily drew it up all the way to her cheekbone. She scooched a little closer to him, coming so close her face was mere inches from his throat, the tips of her horns almost to his chin.

"I wish we could just stay like this all day," she wistfully mumbled, keeping her eyes shut as she felt the warmth blossom between them, the scent of his skin just barely perceptible. He brought his arm around her a little loosely, raising his hand to the top of her head, stroking across her horns as he felt down her hair. After a few moments, Erika got around to answering his prior question. A curious undercurrent to her tone, she admitted "And, uh, I don't really know. To be honest, I'm actually not one hundred percent sure what exactly's gonna happen. I don't know if Balthazar will just know that I've turned my back on my deal with Hell, or if it'll take something for him to figure it out. I just know he'll find out, sooner rather than later. When he does..."

Erika slowly drew in a deep breath, opening her eyes a crack. Rather calmly, she matter-of-factly stated a very simple "...He'll come for me. I'm still a demon until he changes that." She could hear Luke sigh, just above her forehead. Raising an eyebrow, she sounded bored as she added "It doesn't help that I'm not hanging around my portcullis, anymore." She raised the other eyebrow, tilting her head back to look up at him. Her tail crept over her side, found his, and began idly sweeping up and down his skin, the spaded tip stroking from hip to ribs. She craned her neck just enough for her to plant a peck to his chin, and as she leaned back, she smiled. A genuine cheeriness in her voice, she rather simply stated "We're gonna have to stay sharp for Balthazar's little friend. No telling when he'll show up. Keep your eyes peeled, big guy."

Luke tilted his head forward, giving himself a chance to look down at her. He shifted his hand from the back of her head, bringing it alongside the side of her face. She raised her hand to his as he stroked his thumb across her cheekbone, holding his hand, keeping his palm to her jaw. The sensation of his skin against her face was almost enough to put a glimmer in her eyes. He looked pensive for a moment, but then he was smiling. "Yeah," he quietly agreed. "I guess we're both gonna have to deal with an unwanted guest soon, huh?" She smiled from ear to ear. Together. They'd do it together. With a growing smile, his tone abruptly shifted. Somewhat playfully, he remarked "Well, uh, I don't know about you, but I think I could really use a bath, after last night. Feel up to taking a dip with me?"

She grinned, arching an eyebrow. A chance to see lunkhead all wet and glistening? She'd be a damn fool to say no. The two of them stepped out into the sunlight, walking close beside one other as Luke showed her the way. Erika had to squint under the daylight, doing her best to gauge the time by the sun's positioning. God...She had nearly forgotten how uncomfortable it could be, looking up into the sky on a clear day. The only way this could've been more blinding would be if snow covered the ground. If she had to hazard a guess, she'd say it was already closing in on evening, some time in the late afternoon. That didn't give the two of them much time before nightfall, but...It gave them enough. Enough to be themselves for a while, at least. Enough to catch their breath.

As she and Luke arrived at a narrow creek, Erika had the nasty thought to have a cheap laugh at Luke's expense by shoving him in, but when he took her by the hand and started walking her in, she couldn't help but go along with it, smiling to herself all the while. What an odd sight they'd make. A tall, muscular, blonde and blue-eyed athlete of a man, holding the hand of a demon considerably shorter than himself, wings half spread behind her, tail gracefully swishing with every measured step on her bone heels, curvy hips swinging in time. They stepped into the lukewarm water together, following the steep slope in the muddy bank until the creek reached Erika's breasts.

She smirked as he walked around in front of her, getting himself into some deeper water, smiling as he turned to face her. She openly let her eyes roam down and up his body as the water hit his side, wrapping around his torso in a clear, flowing rush. God...He looked good. The way the light hit his hair and face, the fresh air in her lungs, the sound of the narrow creek and singing birds, the way he looked at her...An odd feeling struck her, putting a brief sting in her eyes. There they were, alone in nature, momentarily freed of concerns. Just Erika and Luke, free in the world. The sunlight hit his dirty blonde hair just so, putting a sheen across his short locks. His cyan eyes were bright, alert, mirthful, even. Those lips of his, spread into a friendlier smile than she deserved. The way the water shifted around his muscular frame, his hand still joined with her's...What was this feeling?

Of course, she presented as enthralling a sight as he did. That thick, silky coiffure of bloody red locks, punctuated by the small horns curling close to her head, the points peeking out just above her ears. That sexy leather collar, the front decorated with a metal-lined opening in the shape of a heart. She was a cute figure, a diminutive beauty with black wings, golden slitted eyes, pouty lips...And the way the light filled the side of her face, it was almost calling attention to the sensual little birth mark she had, that tiny, dark dot to the side of her left cheekbone, such a simple yet fetching little thing. And of course, with those generous curves of her's, that enormous bust, that silver barbell in her left nipple...A figure at home in shadow, instead smiling in the light.

This was a treat, and not just for one or the other. He gave a contented sigh, smiling wider as he stepped in closer to her. She interrupted whatever it was he intended to do, throwing her hand up between them without warning, launching a splash of water up against his chest. He flinched when droplets struck his face, but then he was smiling, patiently muttering "Erika..." She grinned and let go of his hand, turned around, and threw her tail up out of the water this time, coiled tight until the very last second. When her tail sprung apart in a hard wriggle, it launched a more focused splash right into his face, making him stumble back a step.

With a nasty grin and a furrowed brow, Erika competitively blurted "Whatcha gonna do about it, soldier boy? Huh?!" He barely grumbled. Without warning, she felt his arms wrap around her waist, holding tight. She squealed with laughter when he lifted her up off of her feet, but gasped when his body tipped over to the side, prompting the two of them to slam down into the water, completely submerging the both of them. When their heads broke the surface, it was Luke's turn to laugh. Erika cleared her bangs from her eyes, baring her teeth as she growled behind a grin. Her voice low, she remarked "I hope you don't think that counts as a baptism, smartass."

Luke smiled to himself, placidly remarking "Oh, I'd imagine you've already been baptised. Not much more I can do..." Smiling more earnestly, he added "But, if you're interested in refreshing the covenant, I know how to do the rites. It wouldn't take more than a minute." Erika slapped her hands into the water, splashing him one last time. As soon as he flinched, she struck. With a pounce, she was glomping him, throwing her arms and legs around him. Laughing again, he collapsed back into the water, incubus latched on to him and all.

It was a peaceful moment...A fun moment for the both of them, simply playtime between lovers. For Erika, these moments seemed so rare. It had always been difficult to enjoy them with him, knowing what she did at the back of her mind. And now, who knew how many more of them the two of them could enjoy before they stopped coming. All the more reason to make the most of them as they came, right? Their relationship had been doomed from the start, and although this hadn't been the outcome she had expected, it had been the one she had felt inexorably drawn towards.

Once they worked the excitement out of their systems, the two stopped fooling around and more earnestly bathed themselves...As well as each other, with tender hands and inquisitive fingers. It took a bit of time, but once they had decided they were well and truly washed off after the previous night's sexual marathon, they disembarked from the creek and headed back to camp. There Erika sat, perched like a gargoyle over one of Luke's two bonfire chairs, trying not to look or feel ignored as she watched him go about his morning routine without interference.

She felt a little useless, sitting about on her well-cushioned fanny as he worked, but there didn't seem to be much she could to do help, and besides, the smiles he'd give her as he threw small talk her way told her he didn't mind. Just having her around, it seemed, was fun enough, for him. He threw fresh firewood into his fire pit, got a flame going, got a light vegetable soup simmering for breakfast, and then went through what must've been a fairly embarrassing chore...Well, for him, at least. She found it entertaining.

Collecting all of his bed sheets and pillow cases, he hauled them on down to the creek for a washing, intent on scrubbing out the...Various fluids from last night's escapades. Erika couldn't help but grin. A more embarrassing walk of shame, she had never before seen: Luke, thick blue blanket in a ball under one arm, pillow cases under the other, wearing naught but his black trunks as he carried off the demon-soiled sheets of his sacred little sleeping zone. She might've offered to help him, if she weren't cracking up thinking about it all. What would his fellows in the church say to such a sight?

Eh. Just as a thought exercise in hypothetical scenarios, what would the other demons say if they heard the precise method by which she had been persuaded to soil said sheets? A sobering thought. Maybe it was unworthy of her to snicker. Luke wasn't gone terribly long, but then the issue became drying the sheets, and Erika opted to help him drape them across a nearby tree branch, spreading them out across the widest possible limb to speed up the drying. Hopefully, they'd still get to use them, that night.

As she retook her seat by the bonfire, idly thumbing her rosary bracelet all the while, she watched Luke disappear into his tent to dress. She had to smile, at that. Was he too shy to pull his clothes on in front of her, or something? Bit late for that, she'd think. When he emerged, he was wearing a pristine white cotton sweater, a fresh pair of blue denim hosen, and those damn hiking boots of his, the shabby black leather in bad need of a shining.

She almost suggested he go see a cobbler to get a new pair, or to at least get the current one a polishing, but now, more than ever, the two of them needed to stick together. If he went into one of the nearby towns on business, she wouldn't very well be able to follow him, now, would she? Well, not unless he went after sundown so she might hide or fly unnoticed, but a paladin demanding a cobbler shine his shoes after business hours might arouse a wee bit of suspicion, and Luke didn't need any more help standing out, the big slab of meat.

As he reached into a burlap sack by his tent and pulled out some potatoes for the stew, something occurred to Erika. Furrowing her brow, she tilted her head to the side, staring. Now, where had those supplies come from? Call her crazy, but she didn't remember seeing those there, the day before. Come to think of it, how in God's name did he even come up with these things? Where did he find the money? Did people just offer it to him, as a member of the paladin order? It was always possible. Considering all the time he spent seeing her, where did he even find the time to make the trips into town?

She watched him slice the potatoes, tossing them into the stew, trying not to wince as he quickly handled the heated lid of the pot. She remembered seeing him in some past victim's fantasies...Oh, what was her name...The rich girl in...Yes, Marceline, that had been it. If Marceline had seen Luke in town, then he must've paid visits to the neighbouring places for food. Still, that did beg the question: when, exactly, did he make these trips? You'd think between her and sleep, his hands would be full. Her confused look failing to abate, she vocalized her thoughts, disturbing the comfortable silence with a somewhat pointed question. "Luke," she remarked, "I've gotta wonder, how do you find the time to get your food?"

He raised his eyebrows, idly looking over. He seemed a little perplexed by the question. Erika gave a crooked smile, adding "Don't tell me you turned into a farmer, when I wasn't looking." Luke grinned, briefly looking back down at his pot before looking for his ladle. "Maybe I did," he joked back. She raised her eyebrows, tilted her head the other way, and threw out "You telling me that after everything last night, after you fell asleep before me, even...You woke up before me with the energy to hike into the city, get some food, come back, and wake up a minute after I did?"

He playfully threw out his hands by his sides, smiled from ear to ear, and murmured "Maybe I did! A good walk's good for clearing the head, you know." Erika held her head up straight. Giving him a more honestly perplexed look, she narrowed an eye, grin fading as she suggested "What, did God put them there, or something?" Luke found his ladle, quickly set aside the lid of his cast iron pot, stuck the wooden spoon in, and started stirring. Eyes on his work, he raised his eyebrows high, smiled a little, and passively answered "Maybe He did." Erika watched him for a couple moments, gauging him. Eventually, he looked over at her, smiled more, and simply said "Honestly, why the curiosity, all of a sudden? There's plenty of time in the day to get things done, Erika, and idle hands are the devil's playthings."

She shrugged with her eyebrows and offered a restrained, if entirely dismissive, backhand wave. He wasn't going to fess up, she could tell. Strange, though. She'll certainly be more careful to eye his food supplies, in the meanwhile. Next time more mysteriously shows up, she'll be sure to grill him...Although, he probably wouldn't be careless enough to make it obvious, now that she's brought it up. She didn't give it much thought when Luke brought up a different subject. Giving her a slightly amused glance, he tapped his ladle against the rim of his pot, warmly asking "Aren't you going to get dressed?" Erika pouted out her lips in a frowning grimace, a somewhat amused, if confused, response to the odd question.

Finally knocking off her fiddling with her rosary, she threw her hands up by her shoulders. "What for," she curtly answered, once more beginning to smile as she eyed him. With a wolfish grin, she made a point of shifting her thighs nice and wide before daintily crossing one leg over the other. "Don't tell me you don't like seeing the boys, now," she teased. As he set the lid back over the pot, he glanced over, eyebrows held high. Speaking through a smile, he offered up a cautious answer, replying "Just wondering. You never know when we might come under siege, right?"

Erika furrowed her brow as she considered his point, looking skyward. After a moment, she sucked her teeth, then groaned out "Fiiine." Raising an eyebrow, she looked down at a hand and examined her fingernails, occasionally turning her hand over to see her nails from another angle. "I'm kind of strapped for choice, though," she remarked, sounding terribly bored. "Thanks to that fire, which will no doubt keep this place smelling like the pits for the next couple days, my wardrobe's gone up in smoke. My options are pretty limited, right now. I have the lingerie I put together last night, my fishnet top with the matching miniskirt..."

She gave a tired glance skyward without tilting her head back. Her expression going even more bored, her jaw hung open until her lips were parted a crack. "...That skimpy little number made for the succubi," she added, practically grumbling. Luke set his ladle down inside one of his bowls, idly asking "Oh, you mean that, eh heh..." He smiled near from ear to ear. "...That black thing you wore, when we had our fight? The one that was more or less a pair of gloves and boots, and not much else?" Erika started to grin, pupils sharpening to slits as she watched him, keenly analyzing his body language. "Yeah," she readily confirmed, voice low. "That's the one. Liked that one, did you?"

"I'm not saying that," Luke passively protested, briefly shrugging with his eyebrows as he took the other seat by the bonfire, close beside her's. Erika mirrored the eyebrow raise, albeit more slowly, offering a lazy nod or two as she hummed. Her eyes eased closed to slits, her grin twisting into such a smug snarl, it was almost mocking. Looking sidelong at him, she purred "It is a pretty sexy little thing, isn't it? I especially like the nipple covers, it's a great touch. I suppose I could put it on." She briefly opened her eyes wide as she nonchalantly added "On one condition."

"Oh, here we go," Luke good-naturedly sighed out, smiling, eyes locked on the bonfire. Erika grinned. Oh, he was game, alright. Narrowing an eye, she leaned over the armrest of her chair, coming a little closer to him. Dropping her voice to a purr, she murmured "I'll slide on into that tight little thong on just one condition, lover boy. Y'see, we didn't pop one off, this morning. That's a no-no, baby. So, here's the deal...I'll go and get dressed, do my makeup, fix my hair, all that jazz. While I'm gone, you eat your breakfast. When I get back...We sixty-nine and have a proper morning wake-up." With a wink, she stopped murmuring, playfully chiming out "Sound good? Of course it does. What's not to like? I spoil you."

Luke looked over at her, somehow looking confused and a little flustered, all at the same time. Erika grinned wide enough to show off her fangs. Even if he didn't know what she wanted, he knew he was being propositioned. Lightly clearing his throat, he tried not to look off-kilt, tried not to stumble over his own words as he innocently answered "Erm...I'm not sure I know what that is, Erika." She raised her eyebrows high, eyes still half-closed, at ease and in control as her grin fell to a big, smug smile. "Oh, yes you do, liar," she flatly rebuffed. "A "sixty-nine" is when we suck each other off at the same time." Her eyebrows relaxing back down, she offered a quick wink, then remarked, with a very genuine bit of enthusiasm, "I don't know about you, but I've got a real thing for it."

Luke smiled a little more, looked back over at his simmering pot, and let his mouth briefly hang open as he slowly drew in a breath. Erika raised her eyebrows, trying not to grin as she watched the gears turn in his head. After that brief pause, Luke closed his mouth and noncommitally answered "I'll think about it." Erika finally grinned. Hopping up to her feet, she presumptuously remarked "That means yes, heh heh. Sit tight, lover boy, I won't be ten minutes." Sashaying on her infernal bone heels, she intentionally walked past his chair as slowly as possible, letting her tail curl about his shoulders and chest, in the process. Turning on the charm, she breathed out a steamy, amused "Feel free to warm up, while I'm gone..."

Luke simply raised his eyebrows, passively pointing out "Erika, my breakfast isn't even going to be ready in ten minutes..." She grinned and kept walking. Without even looking over her shoulder, she purred "Then I guess I'm your breakfast, now, aren't I?" Luke quietly sighed to himself, but that smile of his didn't subside.

The rest of the evening passed the two by in contentment. Erika had dressed herself in her tight, black, latex uniform from the netherworld, complete with opera gloves, thigh-high boots, fishnet sleeve on her tail, heart-shaped metal pasties chained together, and last but certainly not least, one very tight and smaller than necessary thong, decorated at the front with a tiny metal skull with ruby eyes...Alongside a pair of apple-sized balls helplessly spilling out either side of the latex triangle, of course. With all of her makeup having been scorched, the only thing left for her to wear was her pink, woman-seducing lipstick, coating her puffy lips in unholy power.

Although she might've hoped for the outfit to get Luke's motor revving, he was nonetheless just as much of a gentleman as he always was, always polite, always sweet, never letting his hands or eyes wander...Well, not unless she made it a point to force them to, at least. He had a hard time avoiding looking at her bum when she made it a point to stand up in front of his chair and bend over so low that she was touching her toes, but of course, she had a perfectly legitimate reason to do so, and he had an equally legitimate excuse to stare and not feel lewd for it. Fair's fair. Erika did so love these little games played between the eager and the restrained, the experienced and the shy.

They spent most of the remaining daylight hours with her seated in his lap, the two chatting about this and that, largely trying to keep their minds off of the potential for danger, come nightfall. They both knew that the majority of demons one would consider underlings would be most likely to attack at night, when the world was asleep, vulnerable, when the radiance had left the sky, when the mortal realm was more closely similar to the netherworld. As the sun began to dip low, however, and the sky began to shift golden, Luke patted Erika's thighs, getting her out of his lap. It was time for some prayer, he said. He had much to say, much to ask, much to ponder, and it wouldn't hurt to request protection in the times to come, either.

Erika let him go without much fuss. He didn't even so much as float the suggestion her way that she might join him, and she made absolutely no attempt to even pay attention to him as he went about his business. After the prior night, likely neither of them were in any great rush to give dual prayer another go. Erika whiled away the minutes, watching the golden horizon wash in through the trees, casting sunbeams so sharp, they were almost visible like fingers through the branches. The birds began to quiet down, leaving naught but the breeze, nipping her skin as it wavered the bonfire. For the longest time, she didn't look over her shoulder, didn't toss Luke any glances. She had no interest in observing prayer to a mute deity.

Her eyes rose to the sunbeams billowing through foliage. With the sunset, they almost seemed to be pointing towards Luke's tent, crossing the camp from one end to the other. Erika's brow furrowed a hint, her eyes dropping to the bonfire. Some small part of her was tempted to throw a glance Luke's way, but the rest of her just didn't see the point. Let him pray. Let the holy man try and commune. She need not pay attention. She need not cast stones and look down her nose at him. She could simply let him do as he pleased and not involve herself, but still...Some niggling little urge told her to look back. The sunbeams sharpened tighter as the sunset drifted lower. Erika gave in with a sigh. She wasn't going to join him, that was certain, but she couldn't help feeling like the two were ignoring each other.

When she looked back, she almost gave a double-take. She went still, a cold chill crossing her flesh in prickling goose bumps. Her face went ashen, a hint of confusion crossing her eyes as her mouth eased open, a crack. She couldn't believe what she was seeing. There Luke knelt, on his knees at his shrine, eyes closed as he clasped his hands together before himself, praying to the higher power he so deeply believed in, beseeching his greater good to hear his silent plea...And Erika almost couldn't believe it, but unless she were seeing things, it almost looked like...Something were listening.

The scene didn't make sense. Although she had never seen Luke light all of the candles at his shrine at any one time, not only were they all lit, but the flames at the wicks were unnaturally high, each sticking up for several inches in an unwavering plume, sharp like a carpenter's nail. Several of the sunbeams creeping through the branches were resting over his body, cascading past his chest, shoulders, and head, bathing him in the sunset. Erika stared for a couple seconds more, one eye slowly widening more than the other as her teeth lightly went on edge.

"I don't believe it...No. What the hell? Luke? Is that what I...?"

She got up from the chair, but didn't dare take even a single step towards him. Every fiber of her very being told her to keep put. That light wasn't natural. It was consecrated, just like the power awash in his divine knight-blade. The space about him was sacred, baneful. She could come no closer - the powers that be forbade her. Erika raised her eyebrows, looking up towards the sky, then back over her shoulder to follow the sunbeams. Tears glimmered across her lower eyelid as her mouth gently went ajar, once again. She looked back over at Luke, loudly saying "Luke? What're you doing? Talk to me!"

Luke didn't say anything. He just started to smile, wider and wider, confusing her more and more. Her eyes widened when a light began to appear over his sweater, forming a vague shape, unfocused like a ray in the dark. Against the backdrop of the white cotton, the golden light was difficult to see, at first. As the crucifix over his shrine began to brighten up more and more, however, the unfocused cross it cast against Luke's torso became better defined, more recognizable. Erika took a step back, blinking a couple times in rapid succession. She had witnessed many sacred powers in her many years, but never anything so...Passive, never anything that wasn't aimed to destroy, exorcise. Seeing something ostensibly benevolent had the ironic effect of horrifying her.

Luke slowly separated his hands and held his arms out at his sides, raising his chin, still smiling all the while. He held the pose for a couple seconds, and then, all at once, everything stopped. The consecrated display ended, and whatever divine presence may have been paying attention departed. The crucifix of the shrine stopped glowing, the unnaturally intense flames of the candles all went out, and the sunset dipped low enough to raise the last of the sunbeams past Luke's face. Slowly, the tense feeling coiled around Erika's spine subsided. Luke nonchalantly opened his cyan eyes, the striking blue immediately drawn squarely upon her. He smiled more and gave a quiet sort of exhale, not quite a sigh, but not quite a chortle.

"Now I see," he said, raising a knee to crouch, putting an elbow to his thigh as he rose to both feet, dusting off his pants once he had stood up. Erika just watched him, mystified, as he gave a couple confident nods. Smiling from ear to ear, he gave her a warm look, casually making his way over. "It all makes a lot more sense, now," he said, seemingly to himself.

Somewhere, not far from Luke's camp, the mouth ran wet, pupils sharpening to slits. The smell of brimstone lingered close, the ringing of silent arias filled the air. Close, now. Very close.

Erika kept looking at him, utterly perplexed. Glancing past him to his shrine, she hastily asked "What in G...No, not gonna say it, just tell me: what the hell was that?" Looking him in the eyes now, an almost anxious face crossed her, a queer sort of nervousness. Trying not to let her teeth go on edge, she worriedly asked "Was that what I thought it was? You could've warned me! I was sitting right here, man! What if I got exorcised? You can't just call down some influence, like that, when I'm sitting this fuckin' close to you, man!"

Luke, still smiling, gave a slightly exhilarated chuckle, trying not to grin. "Well, I didn't really expect it to happen. Not like that, anyway," he readily admitted. Raising his eyebrows, his eyes partly closed as he added "But, I'm glad it did. I finally have the answers I needed. This all makes a lot more sense, now." His smile turned more serene as he reached out, lightly taking her by the shoulders. A distinctly uncomfortable grimace slowly crept up on Erika's face, and without letting Luke get a word in, she readily blurted out "You're starting to worry me, big guy. The heck's gotten into you? What answers are you talking about?"

In little more than a murmur, Luke asserted "The reason why you were allowed to go to Hell, Erika." Erika's expression relaxed, slowly opening up in surprise. At first, she didn't feel much of anything. Maybe there was some disbelief, but that was about it. A curious undertone ringing in her words, she slowly asked "You found out why? You got an answer?" Her brow promptly furrowed as bitterness bubbled to the surface, but her tone stayed calm as she added "Not sure why you bothered, really. I already know the truth of it." Luke gently shook his head, letting his hands ease off of her shoulders. Erika had to admit, that smile of his was starting to feel a touch patronizing now, but she knew it was just the resentment over the issue talking.

"It's not what you think," Luke asserted, keeping his voice low. She lightly raised an eyebrow as he started to have some trouble maintaining eye contact, his eyes frequently dipping down from her's or drifting off to the side. Somewhat quickly, as if he were struggling to get the thoughts out before he lost them, he insisted "You haven't been wrong to feel the way you've felt, and it makes sense why you'd come to that conclusion. And, um..." His brow knitting a little, he suddenly seemed to settle himself, as if whatever race his mind was going through had abruptly hit the finish line. Looking her in the eyes more resolutely, he said "...I don't blame you for feeling the way you do. Even I'm at a bit of a loss...But, I trust the reasoning."

"Then shoot," Erika flatly urged, prompting him on with a stare. Luke gave a soft sigh, momentarily looking down at the ground before looking back up and meeting her eyes. "He loves us, Erika," he started off. She couldn't say it was the right foot to step out of bed with. All it did was leave her guarded, an unimpressed look crossing her face as she put her hands to her hips. Luke raised his eyebrows, earnestly adding "Each and every one of us." Her jaw lightly shifted forward in a small pout as she momentarily put the tip of her tongue between her front teeth. She tossed a defensive glance off to the side before remarking "Yeah, well, tell that to the people who were in my hometown, a century ago."

Luke's expression began to turn melancholic. His mouth hung open for a couple seconds as he struggled to find the words, but eventually, he uncertainly offered "...Uh...What I'm about to tell you might not make much sense...I know I'm still trying to wrap my head around it, it doesn't really match any of the teachings of the faith, but...Well, this is what I was told." They both raised their eyebrows. He drew in a breath, then sighed out a calm, quiet "He's no different from Pilate, in this case. He gives as His people desire, even if He disagrees...When they condemn someone so vehemently and demand they be cast down, He feels compelled to answer, even if only temporarily to sate them - and the other guy gets a chance to sneak in and get a soul, as a result."

Erika's brow promptly sank deep. What the hell was this nonsense, now? Forget confusion, she was simply annoyed, now. Staring up into his eyes, she snipped "What the fuck are you talking about? Do you expect me to believe that God really just..." She drew in a breath, tilted her head to the side, and breathed out "He actually is a pussy! You're just telling me everything I already know, the only difference is, you're telling me it doesn't make Him a bad guy!" Slowly shaking her head, she crossed her arms beneath her hefty bust, sounding thoroughly unimpressed as she uttered "Sorry, Luke. No dice. If that was your divine revelation, then it isn't telling either of us anything I didn't already know. In fact, all it does is prove me right!"

Her tail gave an impatient snap to the side. Venom began to enter her words as she scowled. "The God I knew wouldn't just let people pressure Him into sending someone to fucking Hell, Luke," she matter-of-factly asserted. Luke's expression began to turn ashen as he gave some humble nods, looking down from her eyes. She continued, muttering "You just got the same story I did: he's a pushover. Sorry state of affairs. He doesn't have to do anything He doesn't want to. Free will or not, the reality of choice or not, He can do whatever the hell He wants to do. If He loved each and every single one of us as much as the good book says He does, then He wouldn't sentence one of us to eternal damnation just because a few others got sticks up their asses over something puny. He made His choice...I wasn't worth protecting."

Luke looked back up to her eyes. Taking a step in, he reached out, slipping her hands into his. She tried not to grimace - why touch her that way, now, of all times? What, to confuse her? To appeal to her heart and better judgement? "But so can we," he confidently insisted, dropping his voice to a soft plea. She watched his eyes go a little anguished, her jaw tightening as the threads of her resistance kept him out, even as her eyes went conflicted. Raising his eyebrows, Luke passionately murmured "We can choose, too! People made their choices, He made His choice, and so did you. You were sent down, but you didn't take it to heart, Erika."

He raised his eyebrows, watching her eyes tenderly. Now it was her turn to look away. She looked down, avoiding his eyes, gently turning her head to the side. He tilted his head, trying to follow her eyes as he gently added "That's what I've been trying so hard to show you...You feel guilty, you feel like you must be, you feel abandoned and betrayed, but you never let Hell have your heart, and I was your chance to really show it and go where you belonged, where you were supposed to go, all along." With a smile, a glimmer began to enter his eyes as he gave an amused sort of exhale. "And you have," he insisted. "You did, just like I knew you would. But now, it's all about whether or not you can see it, too."

Erika gently shook her head. This wasn't right. Her expression started to go numb. Her hands went limp in his, but he gave them a squeeze, prompting life back into them as she squeezed back. Her voice quiet, she mumbled "If He had loved me so much, He could've done what He was supposed to do, all along - what He apparently wanted to do, according to you - and taken me to Heaven, when I died." Her brow began to furrow, all over again. Gently shaking her head again, she looked him in the eyes once more, then muttered "If He had just done that, the last hundred years wouldn't have happened."

Luke gave a silent sigh, a deep exhale. He had to concede to his own weak standing, in this situation. He was trying to be the mediator, and it was making her speak past him. He waited a moment, then quietly said "...I...Can't really claim to speak for God in this matter, you know. I can't claim to know what He was thinking, and I'm not saying this makes perfect sense. Myself, personally, I'm in the same boat as you. Why would He allow the soul of a faithful to go to Hell for any length of time, even if He intended on attempting to redeem it, later? I'm just trying to explain that maybe it wasn't as cut and dry as you've believed, all this time..." He waited a moment, blinked, then gently asked "...And, part of you is afraid that I might be right, isn't it?"

Her furrowed brow persisted for a moment, then slowly relaxed. A fresh shimmer stung her eyes. Her mouth hung open, a little, as she tried to answer. The shimmer brimmed, then slowly began to creep from the corners of her eyes. She closed her mouth. Her eyes hardened, but not with bitterness...Hopelessness. Luke felt the cold mist of sorrow in his chest as she gently shook her head. Her voice was resolute, yet low: "I believe you believe all that, Luke, but really, from where I'm standing, this just comes across like someone on the other side is trying to take a soldier away from Hell. I'm sorry. I'm just not so sure I believe that stuff, anymore. He made His choice."

She slipped one of her hands out of his, raised it up, and rested it against his chest. She gave a sniffle, let go of his other hand, and raised her's to her face, eyes drying as she dabbed the back of a finger across her cheekbones, brushing away the errant tears that had slipped free. Offering him a rueful smile, she quietly said "I believe you when you say you think I don't deserve to be a demon. I believe you when you say you think I should've gone to Heaven. I just don't think I can forgive the guy who put me here, but I appreciate how hard you're trying. You're a good person, Luke...You have a good heart. Don't let the other paladins take it from you."

Luke offered an aborted syllable before his eyes went down, dropping from her's. After a moment, he looked back up to her's, the anguish growing stronger on his face. A quiet plea of "Erika, please" was all he could think to offer. She gave a shaky smile. Seeing him get torn up didn't have the effect he may have desired. She didn't attribute his compassion to God - it was all Luke. She had faith in him. It didn't extend to the figure behind him. A heavy whump in the distant background failed to distract either of them as Erika gave him a strong half-smile. A second noise came after a steady pause, same as the first.

Erika barely shrugged with an eyebrow. Holding back a chuckle, she confessed "For what it's worth, Luke, you did a really good job in testing this redemption theory of your's. I may not trust God, but I sure trust you. I don't remember ever caring about somebody like I care about you." She briefly looked down, finding the words. No harm saying them now, all things considered. Another distant noise came. Looking back up to his eyes, she finally chuckled, shrugged, smiled brightly, and offered "You might not have redeemed me, but if you wanted me to start falling in love, well, you sure hit that nail on the head. Close enough, right?"

Luke blinked, the ghost of surprise crossing his face. Slowly, new life began to shine in his eyes, new hope. Erika smiled widely, trying to keep herself from grinning with embarrassment. So much weight behind the words, now lifted from her shoulders. Wasn't easy to bottle them up, wasn't easy to bear them on your shoulders. After a moment, she briefly narrowed her eyes at him, muttering "...Stop giving me that dopey look, lunkhead. I'm not saying it again just so you can get it into your thick skull." He briefly looked down towards the ground, a new smile brightening his face. Audibly trying not to chuckle, he looked back up to her eyes as he answered, patiently murmuring "No, I...I heard you the first time."

The distant whump came once again, louder, this time. Erika furrowed her brow, turning her head to look over her shoulder, audibly peeved as she muttered "Ugh, for fuck's sake, already. What in the hell is making that n...?" She trailed off when the noise suddenly came again, then again, becoming more steady, rhythmic, closer. Luke looked off into the trees, expression turning stony as he listened. With the sunset facing them through the trees, it wasn't easy to make much out in the distance. All was shrouded in a golden light that was, blessedly, darkening by the minute.

Erika's expression slowly relaxed with a hint of anxiety. If those were footsteps, then whatever the hell was making them must've weighed a ton. Turning around fully to face the noise, she kept her voice down as she remarked "Hey, you got that armour handy?" Giving a shrug with her eyebrows, she added "Might wanna pull it on." "Not enough time," he matter-of-factly answered, walking off with the assuredness of a soldier, a holy warrior, as he went for his blade. Erika just as matter-of-factly snapped back "Then I'll buy you time. You can't fight a demon without armour, genius! What're you, suicidal?"

Luke immediately stopped dead in his tracks, already turning back around to face her, the stunned look on his face proof of how prepared he was to instantly, and vehemently, argue with her decision. She didn't give him a chance. Turning to face him, wings already spreading wide open, she gave him a casual, at-ease smile. Looking him right in the eyes, she nonchalantly instructed "Just don't keep me waiting all night long, here, huh?" He barely had time to say her name, evidently hoping it'd be enough to stop her. Instead, the word was cut mid-way as she hopped and beat her wings, rising higher and higher with every buffeting of the wind. In seconds, she had risen high enough to climb over the trees, and with a sharp dip and a swerve, she was off.

Expression resolute, she flew across the sea of green, the thick, brush-like bodies of the trees passing by in a blur beneath her, the golden sun still peeking over the horizon, a little less than half still visible. The crashing noise continued to escalate until, at once, it rumbled to a stop. Erika pulled up sharply, dropping down with her wings held open to slow her descent. She hit the dirt with a thud, eyes roaming around as she pulled her bone heels out of the ground. It didn't take her longer than a moment to spot the thing that didn't belong. Raising an eyebrow as she looked off to the side, she barely froze up, just for a moment. Then, she was turning to face it, lip already curling up.

It was a hideous thing, made all the more grotesque by the peaceful forestry surrounding it. By all accounts, it looked like some kind of aquatic creature, an alligator or crocodile, some kind of primeval serpent that had decided to begin walking upright like a human. The creature dwarfed her by a wide margin - standing between seven and nine feet high, it was taller than even Luke, with a wide, thick frame to match. Like an alligator, it had short, somewhat stubby limbs, admittedly not very intimidating besides how muscular they likely were to power those talons. Much of the body's length was dominated by the thick, barrel-like torso, sturdy enough that even a charging bull of a man would no doubt bounce right off.

The head was somewhat flat and pointed forwards, facing outward like a human, with a rather bloated gullet to round out the throat. The tail was thick, easily longer than the body was tall, lined with ridges and spines that, while sharp, were too short to be considered much of a weapon. However, most disturbing of all would've definitely been the carapace. Instead of greenish, brackish scales for a hide, the creature appeared to be created entirely from some kind of dark, near-black stone-like substance, wavy and asymmetrical like the entire creature were one giant blood clot, a massive scab that had taken on a life of it's own.

The eyes were empty pits, black holes that ran deeper on inside. The corners of the long mouth ran down either side of the bloated throat, running like two long cracks down the demon's chest until they had nearly reached the stomach. Erika glanced behind the figure. She could only guess that with every short, hard step, the demon swung out it's tail in wide, sweeping movements. Several of the trees behind the beast had had wide sections of bark torn right off, no doubt the cause of the whumping noises she and Luke had heard earlier on. She had no idea which caste this particular demon belonged to, but in truth, it mattered very little. Whatever this thing was, whoever it had once been, Hell had perverted it into a shape to reflect the taint within.

Everyone knew what everyone here wanted to do. Words were meaningless, but Erika was nothing if not smug. She needed to buy Luke enough time to stop the show, anyway. The demon turned it's head to look at her, and Erika could only grin. Wings still partly open, she struck a pose, cocking out her left hip, holding it as she shifted her weight to one foot. Giving a couple rapid blinks, she swept her right hand through her hair with a smart backhand, breathing out "Looking for me, handsome? Well, here I am!" She snickered. Narrowing an eye, she more firmly added "Okay, I can't say that with a straight face. Which part of the pits did you wriggle out of? Dare I say, we don't come from the same neck of the woods."

In an instant, a piercing red light began to fill either of the demon's narrow, pit-like eye sockets, filling the small slots in the rocky carapace with intense pinpoints of crimson. At the same time, a deep, rumbling growl slowly arose from the demon's throat. Erika's brow slowly furrowed. Evidently, it recognized who she was. It recognized she'd be a hindrance. No doubt it could sense her broken penance - she was just as much a target as the paladin it had come for. That she had turned her back on her sacrifice to be a demon was an affront it clearly wasn't prepared to suffer. The tall creature's legs slowly shifted as it turned to face her, the long tail keeping low to the ground as it swept out in back-and-forth waves, no doubt to help maintain the beast's balance.

Erika closed an eye in a slow wink, a big, cocky smile splitting her face. She offered a long, low hum. She made no attempt to beat around the bush. Rather flatly, she muttered "Mmm, figured it out, have you? Yeah...I did it. And you know what?" Raising her eyebrows, her eyes went half-closed with boredom. One corner of her mouth briefly shrugged higher before her smile simply died. Matter-of-factly, she asserted "I'd do it again in a heartbeat. You can't have him. So, make a move, because he already knows you're coming, and I don't plan on leaving you two to play alone."

Erika almost flinched at how quickly the beast called her bluff. In nearly the blink of an eye, it dropped down to all fours, head held out straight from the torso to continue facing her. With such indomitable strength that it tore up clumps of grass and dirt, the beast suddenly lunged towards her, throwing itself through open air in a mad dive, jaw opening wide in a yawning gape as it rumbled from deep within. Erika didn't have time to think. She gave a hard beat with her wings, lifting herself up just high enough that instead of being snatched squarely in the beast's jaws, her legs instead struck it's snout, sending her uncontrollably cartwheeling through the air from the force of the near bone-breaking slam.

The reptilian beast blew past the space she had been occupying, ramming face-first into a tree not far behind where she had been standing. The beast crumpled against it in an unceremonious heap, but nonetheless struck such a resounding blow against the tree's trunk, the crack that tore through the air was as loud as a thunderclap. A rip blasted across much of the trunk's surface as splinters and chunks erupted free like shrapnel. Erika flipped through the air in nearly three full revolutions, futilely attempting to catch herself with her wings before gravity brought her slamming back down over her back, landing hard over the bases of her wings with more than enough force to tear the wind right out of her lungs.

Her face twisted up in a grimace as she fought to recover, to get up on her feet and prepare for the next attack. Already breathing heavy between parted lips, she looked back over her shoulder, eyes a little wide as she rose to a kneel. In a quick grunt, she remarked "Fast one, huh?" She gave a quick flex of her hands, prompting her fingernails to extend for several inches, the tips tapering to needle-sharp points. She rose to her feet and pivoted around on a heel, taking a couple steps back as she faced the nameless demon, vanquisher pet of Balthazar.

The beast moved with greater agility than it's stocky limbs and thick torso would suggest, the cumbersome-seeming form only belying the great finesse it could muster up. With an increasingly louder growl, it pushed back from the tree with enough force to dig it's taloned feet into the ground, providing an anchor for it to throw itself upright. It spun around and readied itself, swiping it's tail out in a wide arc that struck a nearby tree across the body, sending another whump echoing throughout the forest. The beast threw it's arms out by it's sides and opened it's dark maw wide, the corners stretching open down the sides of the vaguely reptilian creature's gullet, the depths producing a red light as it bellowed, loud and deep.

Erika took a couple running steps forward, then dove into a swoop, wings extending by her sides as she began gliding. The beast threw itself forwards in a lunge, landing on all fours as it tried snapping it's great jaws at her. Erika pulled up, narrowly dodging the clamping teeth like a hare slipping the hound, one leg nearly catching on the corner of the creature's oversized mouth. Still, she managed to catch it across the side of it's face with her claws, unable to witness the effect of her attack until she had flown for a few meters, giving herself enough time to turn around. The beast curled itself around in a spin utilizing the full weight of it's body, practically jack-knifing it's front and rear ends, throwing it's legs up into the air to slam them back down into a more comfortable position behind itself, allowing it to face her.

Erika eyed the scratch marks across the right side of the creature's flat head, two of which crossed it's glowing pit of an eye socket. She couldn't deny a sinking sensation in the pit of her belly. A swipe that could've split a mortal man's chest open had hardly scratched an inch into the demon's rocky carapace. If she had any hope of killing this thing, she knew she'd need to find some way to cripple it, to maim it, to leave it helpless. Bad enough the thing had enough strength to topple whole trees, but with that kind of speed to match, one mistake was all it'd take to see Erika leaving the mortal realm.

She flew up higher, coasting above the demon just low enough to goad it into leaping for her, kicking off from the ground with a tremendous amount of strength. Erika grinned as she sharply pulled up, avoiding an audible snap from the demon's jaws. With a cackle, she looked down at the beast, wings beating to keep her aloft as she held her arms out at her sides. Thoroughly enjoying herself, she yelled out "C'mon, jump for it! Work for it, mutt! I bet Balthazar makes you do it all the time!" The demon didn't offer much in the way of entertainment. With a growl, it stared up at her for a couple seconds, then abruptly turned it's focus elsewhere.

The demon dropped down to all fours, then began to fly off in a canine-like run, the demon's claws throwing up clouds of dirt with every raking through the grass. Erika's grin died as her blood ran cold. Oh, no. If it couldn't have her, it'd go for someone else, someone who might not have been ready, yet. She flew after the demon as it slammed into a tree during the wild charge, bashing it with enough force to tear off a hunk of wood, sending splinters flying. Slowly, the tree began to tip, but Erika was already flying too quickly to watch it tumble. Baring her teeth, she shouted over the rushing of the wind and rustling of branches, ordering "Hey, I'm right here!! Where do you think you're going, you big prick?! Did I say you could go?"

She swept lower as the demon kept racing away from her, the incubus foolishly risking ramming into a tree branch in the process. Grinning again, she dropped herself onto the demon's back, not only stabbing her claws into it's skin, but her bone-horn heels, as well. After a quick grunt from the hard landing, she blurted out "You can go when master says you can go!" She laughed as she tore her claws back out of the demon's stone-like carapace, curling her fingers to hook the breaks wider. No blood emerged, nothing rewarded her efforts, but she nonetheless slashed her hands across the beast's back, crisscrossing it with rivulets before repeatedly plunging her claws back in for stabs, trying to gouge out as much of the tough material as possible.

The demon kept racing through the forest for several moments more before abruptly growling. Without warning, it threw itself into another jackknife, abruptly turning it's body to the side at a sharp angle, throwing itself up into open air at such a steep tilt, it not only ended up going horizontal, but it turned itself over onto it's side, aiming it's own back at all the trees it was now cascading towards. Erika barely had a moment to react, but as soon as she had felt the demon begin the twist, she unhooked her heels from it's carapace. Turning over her perch, she kicked off and leapt from it's back, desperately opening her wings in a glide to catch herself.

Being catapulted from the demon's back threw her glide into dangerous speeds, and although she tried to pull up to break free from the foliage, she nonetheless ended up whipping straight into a thick tree branch, the low-hanging limb clotheslining her right across the chest. Erika's face twisted up as the wind was knocked free from her lungs, the short incubus helplessly somersaulting backwards for a full revolution before cracking against the ground in an unsightly heap.

The demon, meanwhile, was forced to weather the consequences of it's own attack. It struck the ground with enough force to shake the earth, promptly flipping itself over in a roll before crashing spine-first into the body of a tree, instantly cracking the trunk before sending the tree toppling over, the verdant behemoth sending a shockwave of it's own through the earth once it collided with the dirt. Erika, eyes screwed shut tight, gave a hard wheeze as she struggled to push herself up from the grass, coughing after every suck for air. Jesus, talk about rattling her ribs! She gingerly touched the center of her chest as she got up to her knees, trying not to stumble once she rose to her feet.

The demon behind her gave a more aggravated growl. She turned around, brow furrowing as she watched the reptilian behemoth push itself up from the ground, getting a squat leg behind itself to take a knee, then rise up to it's feet, all in just a moment. Tail whipping through the leaves of nearby trees, it turned to face her, a low growl rumbling inside it's thick gullet. It opened it's mouth as it began to step around the shattered tree trunk left behind from it's dive, a clear, syrupy saliva overflowing past the red, jagged teeth lining it's jaw. The tip of Erika's tail raised up in a curl as a mischievous grin began to cross her beautiful face.

With a humming chuckle, she abruptly stepped over, touching her hands to the tree she had rammed into, sashaying her way behind it, getting out of sight. The demon opened it's mouth wider and roared as it quickened it's steps, claws scraping aside bark as it grabbed the tree, shaking the poor thing as it looked around the body for the petite incubus.

"Yoo-hoo! Over here, big boy!"

The demon's big, flat head jerked to the side, growling as it spotted her nearby. Erika, hands to the tree bark of an entirely different tree altogether, was leaning out from behind it, flashing the much bigger demon a nice, cheeky grin. She winked, then popped her head back in behind cover. The demon gave a low, ponderous growl, slowly letting go of the tree it was grabbing. It's head turned to the side as, just as abruptly as the first time, Erika popped her head out from behind a second tree dozens of feet away from the first, puckering her lips as she made smooching noises, calling the demon over like he were a household dog.

"Here, boy! C'mon, come and get me!"

She ducked back behind cover, and the great beast looked off to the side as, yet again, Erika popped out from behind another tree, this time ramping up her taunting even further. With a giant grin, she spun around on a heel, bent over, thrust out her giant rear, and wiggled her hips so hard that her thick cheeks veritably clapped against each other, jiggling like bowlfuls of jelly hard enough to expose the black string of her thong buried deep between, apple-sized balls bouncing about against the string just below. The cherry on top, of course, was the wicked spank she threw herself, not hesitating to clap one of her buns hard enough to leave a hand print. Evidently, that was just one taunt too many for the demon to endure.

With a furious roar, it grabbed the tree it stood beside, putting it's whole body weight against it, cracking the body almost instantly. Before the tree could fall, the demon quickly turned around, and when Erika saw that long tail scything through the air, her eyes widened, her grin dying. She pulled one last disappearing act, jumping behind the tree before shifting herself through the ether, vanishing her body before transposing herself a couple dozen feet away, materializing behind a different tree, altogether. When the demon's tail struck the tree, it hit it with such force that the behemoth nearly snapped the body a second time.

The tree went flying through open air for but a moment before crashing against two others, tilting them to the side at drunken angles. The battering ram of a tree, meanwhile, was twisted about by the obstacles, chaotically thrashing through the air and against the ground before finally crashing against the tree Erika had been hiding behind, a couple seconds before.

"Impudent incubus! Show yourself!"

The deep, grating voice, echoing from somewhere cavernous, made Erika's blood run cold. So, this thing could speak, then. Funny. Had the cat had it's tongue up until now, or had she merely pissed it off enough to get it opening up? She started to smirk, to half-grin, practically snarling as the adrenaline continued to flood her. The more she ticked it off, the less likely it'd be to go after Luke. Now, all she needed was enough time to cut it down to size, and maybe she could even handle this without a paladin's help. She leaned out from behind the safety of her new tree, smugly calling out "Right over here, cutie pie! Try again!"

She froze once her eyes registered that the demon had vanished. Her eyes darted towards her right side as soon as she heard movement. She turned in a hurry, stumbling backwards. The behemoth was on all fours nearby, having been enough towards her side to get behind her, somehow entering her blind spot during her taunt. She had no idea if it could phase itself like she could or if it could simply move with a silence to match it's speed, but whatever the case, she very suddenly found herself in a not-so-advantageous position. Eyes glowing red like far-off stars, it's growl escalated threefold as it threw itself towards her in a mad lunge, twisting it's head sideways to angle it's jaws and teeth into a more effective bear trap.

Erika gave as hard a beat with her wings as she could, launching herself backwards hard enough to throw out her arms and legs in front of herself from the sheer force of it. The demon nearly caught her boots as it turned it's head to the side in attempt to scoop her out of the air, biting straight into the trunk of the tree she had been using for cover. Erika briefly screwed her eyes shut as she felt another tree collide into her spine, her back slamming straight into the trunk, directly between her wings. Her evasive move had saved her from getting snatched, but the force of the resultant ramming was enough to rattle her head, pain shooting through her back as the bases of her wings were stretched to an unhealthy degree from the compression.

She opened her eyes wide in a panic as the other demon recovered before her. Dragging it's teeth off of the tree trunk, it turned it's mad, glowing eye sockets towards her, claws scraping up the dirt as it hurried towards her, mouth presenting a dark, drooling, cavernous maw. Erika waited until precisely the right moment, then leapt up with all her might, a move the demon fully anticipated. Instead of ramming face-first into the tree behind her, it stood up, caught itself against the tree with it's hands, and pushed itself upright, aiming it's mouth skyward to hopefully catch the incubus during her jump.

Instead, Erika slid right over the top of it's flat head, grabbing on to it's snout with one hand until it's upright position had her hanging off of it, dangling across the demon's face between it's eyes, suspended high above the ground. She swung about through open air as the demon snapped it's jaws shut, biting at nothing but leaves and shattered bird's nests. Still, Erika yelped when the pressure of it's mouth crushed down on her fingers, but all it made her do was vindictively dig her claws into the roof of it's mouth. She bared her teeth, wide-eyed with fury as she plunged the claws of her other hand into the demon's left eyes socket, cutting her razor-sharp blades through the cap of it's skull.

The demon roared, pushed itself off of the tree, and vigorously waved it's head about, arms too short to pull it from the top of it's own skull. Erika wasn't to be deterred. Plunging her claws into the top of the demon's head, stabbing where it's brainpan should've been, she shouted each word at the top of her lungs, bellowing out "I! Don't! Like! Boys! Who bite! Let me go!" When Erika reached her arm around and tried plunging her claws into the demon's bloated throat, it finally opened it's mouth and gave a hard snap to the right, finally succeeding in throwing her off. The motion threw her body to the side with enough force to dislodge her claws from inside it's mouth, sending her cascading through open air.

She opened her wings to take flight, but grunted when something smashed into her hip. She had no time to react. The demon's tail swatted her out of the air like a fly, sending her ramming down against the ground with enough force that, when she landed over her own left wing, she had to scream, a bloodcurdling cry ripping out of her throat. Tears uncontrollably flooded her eyes as she feebly rolled off of her wing, grinding her teeth as she screwed her eyes shut, choking back the cries, trying to stifle the tears. She could feel it. Cartilage was broken. No way she was flying on that wing, not anymore. First mistake of the fight. Should've pulled up faster. Should've seen the tail coming. Shouldn't have gotten hamstringed, like this. Maybe Goliath would actually beat David, this time.

Erika struggled to rise as the demon turned to face her, drooling mouth opening wide at the tender, defenceless morsel she presented. It lumbered towards her, head coming low, arms stretching out to snatch her. She curled her lips up as she kicked against the dirt, scrambling up to her feet, stumbling backwards all the while. Quietly, she snapped "Fuck you, I ain't done, yet!" The demon kept coming in until, unnoticed by either of them, the footsteps that had been racing towards the scene went into an unnatural burst of speed. Erika was too surprised to react when a flash of silverish metal came launching into the side of the demon's face, racing in from out of nowhere.

Luke, dressed in his full platemail suit, rammed into the side of the beast's face with the full weight of his body, throwing himself into the behemoth with his shield raised. Not only had he been moving with impossible speed, but when his consecrated shield struck the demon's carapace, it gave a brief, yet blindingly bright, flash of light, hitting the infernal beast with force beyond Luke's reckoning. The scene almost played out in slow motion, for Erika. The demon's head twisted to the side with such force that it's shoulders were forced to follow, and Luke, divine knight-blade at his side, slashed it across the arm before retreating for several paces, heavy platemail clanging as he bought distance between himself and his foe.

The slash in the demon's arm steamed as it struggled to balance itself, and when it's tail began swinging over, Erika immediately blurted out "Luke, the tail!" Luke looked over in a hurry, then threw his kite shield up, twisting his body to face the incoming attack. Bracing himself, he stood his ground, but Erika was already scrambling to escape the tail's reach. Escape was needless. Just before the tail struck Luke, an aegis of golden light flashed in front of his body, forming a shimmering wall several times larger than his physical shield. The tail struck the light but couldn't pass it, coming to a dead stop just before the aegis vanished in plumes of golden smoke, wafting skyward.

Luke didn't hesitate to cross his divine blade with the lengthy limb, slashing a steaming laceration deep into the beast's carapace. The demon roared, rearing itself up, pulling the tail out of Luke's reach. It crawled forward in a hurry, paladin and incubus watching the great, alligator-like demon run on all fours in a wide bend, arching through the forest, passing behind trees like a grand shadow, an illusion made worse by the dying of the light. Luke kept his eyes on the demon, but over the pounding of it's footsteps, he asked "How's your wing? You took a bad fall!" Erika promptly answered "Busted! No more flying for me, today!"

"Just stay behind me," he called back. The demon finally turned well enough to begin racing straight towards them, mouth held wide to consume. Luke pounded his sword's hilt against the face of his shield, furiously shouting "Face me, demon!" A great red glow begin to grow deep in the demon's spread maw, like a furnace igniting itself at the paladin's challenge. Erika watched the great beast barrel towards them before, at the last moment, Luke raised his shield higher, causing another wall of divine might to stretch before him, rushing outwards from the center in waves. The demon tried biting anyway, mouth closing on either end of the aegis, teeth gnashing and crunching into the edges of the small miracle.

Steam billowed out from inside the demon's mouth as the divine protection scorched it's carapace, but if it pained the demon, it didn't show it in the slightest, evidently content to continue gnawing at the aegis until it fell, leaving the holy man defenceless. Luke instead thrust his sword up towards the sky, shouting as his sword gave a brief flash. A second later, a thunderclap nearly deafened Erika, a lightning bolt slamming into the demon's back, striking the slashed section she had previously softened up. That managed to pain the demon, who growled before finally unhanding the aegis from it's jaws, shaking it's head as it writhed a little, recoiling back for several paces.

Luke pulled aside his shield, dropping the consecrated wall of light. Rushing in after the demon, he thrust out with his blade, plunging it deep into the beast's lower jaw, striking the chin. Erika watched, unsure of how or when she could contribute without the aid of her wings, but it wasn't long before her hand was forced. The demon roared at Luke's attack, pushing itself up off of the ground, throwing itself back into an upright position. With blinding speed, the demon lashed out with a hand, catching Luke across his front with a savage swipe of it's claws. Metal was sheared like paper, and Luke was sent stumbling backwards, opening him up just long enough for a consecutive strike.

Erika bolted in before the demon could press the offensive. A shout growling in her throat, she sprinted past Luke's side and leapt up into the air, wings folded behind herself to prevent them from slowing her down. She reached just high enough to crash claws-first into the beast's gullet, thrusting her talons so deep into the infernal creature's carapace, her fingertips poked into the wounds. The demon's reaction was a shock to incubus and paladin alike. The demon screeched in legitimate agony, a long, loud wail that eventually transformed into a bellowing roar of pain. It thrashed, clawing at it's own throat, slashing Erika's wings, back, and legs as it desperately tried to pull her away.

Erika barely had time to notice the blood pouring against her fingers before the demon had grabbed her by both of her legs, pulling on her limbs until her claws slipped free. It threw her aside like a rag doll, then clutched it's own throat as the roar died down to a bitter growl. Erika hit the ground and rolled a couple times, wanting to scream every time she rolled over her wings, but caught herself well enough to shout out "The throat! Everything else is armour! Just get the throat!" Luke didn't answer. Scrambling to his feet surprisingly quickly given his weighty armour, he raised his shield, advancing towards the demon with his sword at the ready.

The demon rushed in, tail swinging against a nearby tree in the process. Erika rushed back up to her feet and desperately ran in to join the assault. When the demon threw out a blindingly quick haymaker straight into Luke's shield, a flash of white sparks erupted from the impact, presumably from Luke attempting to raise his aegis just a split-second too late. The punch could've landed with arm-breaking force for all Erika knew, because Luke's shield was pushed back hard enough to crush his gauntlet against his breastplate, sending him stumbling backwards, fighting hard to maintain his balance. Erika threw herself at the demon's arm, latching on to it's shoulder by hooking her claws into it's carapace.

When it threw out the far arm to pull her off, she shifted her legs through the ether, putting them in the air over the demon's back. Before it could reach higher and grab her waist, she shifted the rest of herself, minus her disembodied facial features. Her body, faceless, dropped over the demon's shoulders, arms wrapping around it's neck to claw at the bleeding gullet. As her features shifted back onto her face, she gave Luke a desperate look from over the demon's head, shouting "Exorcise him! Come on!" Luke, breathing hard inside his armour, didn't need a second diversion. He thrust the point of his sword down into the dirt, causing the handle and crossguard to together form a crucifix.

The demon's mouth began to open wider and wider, the corners of it's oversized maw stretching down the collar bones and clear to the torso. Erika couldn't claw at the gullet for long before it was out of reach, and then, the demon was reaching up, grabbing her by a leg, and throwing her down against the ground, straight over her injured wings. Before she could even dream of getting up, the demon slammed a taloned hand down overtop her, a claw over either shoulder, a claw at either arm. The fact that the demon hadn't just aimed lower and gutted her, the fact that it wasn't even pressing down to crush her, only had her horrified. Whatever it intended on doing, it wasn't ending her, just yet. It might take long to drag her back down to Hell.

Luke put his hands together as he spoke a quiet prayer, causing the blessing over his blade to intensify, the pristine white light emitted from the blade steadily turning brighter and brighter. Erika looked up in a panic as the demon's maw opened all the way, causing the chest to drop down like a wall of black, blood clot-like armour. A pallid, fleshy mass was exposed at the interior of the torso, like great, round mound of flayed meat drained of every drop of blood, left a disturbing shade of near-colourless. The bulge that had been occupying the beast's gullet was exposed, revealing the true face of the great demon.

An abnormally large human head fired out from inside the demon's throat, stretching out on a long, thick tendril of meat akin to a frog's extending tongue, the entire mass of flesh riddled with subtle cobwebs of blue veins. Luke could only watch, the adrenaline filling him making time seem to pass slower. The bald, oversized head's eyes shone like red stars, the mouth opening wider and wider until the sides split in rivulets of blood, exposing rows of fangs to match the jaws opening to snake-like dimensions. Punctures marred the demon's face from Erika's prior attacks, running blood across the startling features. The tendril fired straight towards him, the head turning in mid-air, aiming the roaring mouth for the face of Luke's winged great helm.

Erika's voice slow to his ears, she furiously shouted "Kill this thing! Now!!"

Luke's hand fired down to the grip of his holy blade in the blink of an eye, and in the next motion, he was whipping his arm up, twisting his whole body to the side to put more force behind the blow. The sword split the demon's face in a long lash of red, and the tendril reared up, recoiling into the air like an insect's wriggling antennae. As soon as the tendril dipped lower, Luke thrust his sword up into the underside of the head's chin, then dragged it down across the throat, causing red to waterfall down against him. The divine might of his blade caused the blood to steam away from the weapon, and similarly, the blood simply beaded and rolled off of his armour, flowing away.

Immediately, the demon's roaring began wet, gurgly, raspy, choked. It stumbled to the side, pulling it's hand off of Erika's body, freeing her up. She and Luke watched as the places cut by his blade abruptly began to ignite into white flame, failing to go out even as the blood poured. Most surreally, the demon's terrifying face was fully consumed by flame, waving about through the air like a grand torch with a mind of it's own. The demon stumbled to the side until it crashed into a tree, then began to collapse. The human head grimaced in agony, the jaw opening to dislocating angles as it offered one last roar, it's voice regressing to a disturbingly human-like quality before tapering off.

Erika rose to her feet with a grunt. Luke approached the felled demon, sheathing his blade. Erika, trying not to limp from a hurt leg, made her way over, as well. He reached up and pulled off his helmet before looking over at her, taking in her condition. She tossed him a glance, noting the sweat on his brow, giving him a triumphant, breathless smile. "Hey, we actually did it," she panted out, grinning, claws receding. He wound up smiling, panting out a chuckle of his own. As they both looked over at the demon, Erika couldn't resist one last taunt. Nodding her chin up at the body, she furrowed her brow, her grin turning decidedly nasty. Kicking out a foot, she nudged the demon's leg, remarking "Why don't you shine my boots while you're down there, fucker?"

Raising an eyebrow, she threw Luke a glance, idly blurting out "Did you see the way he was slobbering? Disgusting! He probably would've eaten you, armour and all. Hell only knows what he would've done to me." "Good thing we won't find out," Luke immediately answered, tossing her a glance of his own. She watched as he eased down to a knee, setting his helmet down on the ground. One arm over his knee, the other hand to the ground, he bowed his head. When he began to quietly mumble some sort of prayer, Erika took a step away from him, mostly as an unconscious defence mechanism. She didn't think he'd ever try to hurt her, per se, but when it came to the powers that be, well...Better safe than sorry, right?

As Luke's prayer continued, the white flames clinging to the great demon's wounds began to spread, quietly washing across more and more of the body. As the sun finished setting, as the golden light pouring into the forest finished the descent into navy, Erika and Luke remained illuminated by the pristine white light, filling the area with the waving of a heavenly flame. Erika watched as Luke finished his call for divine aid, slowly rising back up to both feet, helmet hanging loosely from one hand. The demon, physical body destroyed in the mortal realm, animus exorcised back to the netherworld, left behind naught but a crumbling shell.

As the flames slowly consumed the interior, hunks of the hollow carapace slowly broke apart, falling inwards, easing the spread of the purifying immolation. Every inch of Erika's body beheld the astral flame and felt repelled, but she stood her ground, weathering the keenly uncomfortable proximity to the divine display of might. Neither of them said anything for a time, but as the demon's remains began to collapse into a flatter and flatter collection of clot-like plates, Erika looked over at Luke, eyeing the breaks in his armour. At first, she put a joking spin on her observations, perhaps to try and veil her concern. With a smirk, she remarked "Looks like you're gonna need to pick up a third suit of armour, huh?"

He glanced down at himself, eyeing the tears in his breastplate. Erika's expression turned more crestfallen. No need to hide her concern, she told herself. A little more honestly, she asked "You had me worried, a couple times. I couldn't have beaten this guy on my own. You okay? He landed a pretty solid hit, there." Luke gave her a little smile, eyes at ease as he answered "Yeah, I'll be fine. Nothing a prayer can't heal." He gave her a nod, eyed her damaged wings, and added "You too, you need some help." Turning towards her, he smiled more, then said "Stay still, for a minute."

Erika's eyes briefly widened, but she couldn't pull away before he was stepping in, reaching out to take her into a hug. Immediately, she struggled, squirmed, pushed him away, did everything she could to extricate herself without resorting to violence. She looked up in a panic, spotting the way his lips shifted in silent prayer, his eyes down on her's as he smiled. Already raising her voice, the petite incubus barked "What the hell do you think you're doing?! Let go of me, dumbass! This is the stupidest idea you've ever had! Your prayer won't help me, it's gonna kill me!"

He interrupted his own prayer long enough to murmur "Just trust me, it won't hurt you if I don't want it to...You're no threat to me, it has no reason to harm you." Erika slowly stopped struggling, the anger in her eyes subsiding. She did trust him, but this was asking for a lot. The powers that be wouldn't differentiate her as a friend from foe, would it? Her hands settled over his sides as he closed his eyes, resuming his prayer. Erika's face slowly twisted into a wince as she waited for the judgement strike, some righteous blow to banish her from his arms as the rejuvenating blessing was called upon. It never came.

In a gentle golden light, a curtain of restorative energies washed across his body, then spread to her's from his arms, flowing like honey-coloured smoke about their forms. All at once, Erika felt frightened, terribly vulnerable. She was terrified that, at any moment, the divine might see fit to smite her while she were defenceless, to take advantage of her trust and destroy her. Like a shy girl being touched by her first lover, she was afraid of no real danger. Her display of trust was rewarded with anodyne, her injuries mending themselves, the pain simply vanishing as the slashes in her skin, the broken cartilage in her wing, merely righted themselves. The only contrast to the blessing were the cut sections the demon had left in her boots; like skin, the tears in the latex came back together, sealing themselves of their own accord, leaving her infernal uniform no worse for wear.

If only Luke's armour could fix itself the same way. Erika silently gave a tremble as the tingling blessing finished passing over her and subsided, fading away. She kept watching his face until he opened his eyes again, those cyan eyes of his, so sharp of colour, finding her's in an instant. He smiled from ear to ear, his eyes going half-closed as he murmured "There, you see? Back in tip-top shape. Go on, give your wing a flex." Erika's lips twisted as she opened her wings wide, stretching them out. There wasn't much need to, she had already been able to tell that her busted wing had righted itself, but it wasn't easy to say no to him. The spaded tip of her tail slowly twitched left and right as it hung lower and lower, her wings closing once more.

"Don't ever do that again," she feebly mumbled, pushing a hand against his chest, a halfhearted shove that barely even tilted him. When he gave the faintest exhale of amusement, she couldn't help but feel her eyes dew up. The white flames began to ebb down, leaving them in more and more darkness. She kept still as Luke's hands shifted up to her shoulders, then the sides of her neck, then either side of her jaw, his thumbs on her cheeks. Already, her eyes were widening. What was happening? This felt different. What was he doing? Her stomach began to tingle. Something was happening, here.

She could still see his face in the dying light, but it was getting more and more difficult. Still smiling, his voice steady, he quietly said "Since I didn't have the chance to say it before, let me go ahead and say it now, while I still have the chance: I love you, too." Her breaths began to turn lighter, more shallow. The dew in her eyes intensified, stinging. Why did it feel this way, hearing those words? Her stomach tingled even further, but all calmed when he casually leaned in, causing her eyes to ease closed as he kissed her. She raised her hands to his, then slid them down to his wrists, encouraging him to keep holding her. She kissed him back, deeply, slowly, his breaths gentle, warm puffs against her cheek as they shared one after the other.

What a day. Not only had Luke lived through it, a consequential enough development, but so had she...And the consequences for that would be dire. There'd be no hope of hiding, now. Balthazar would know she had helped Luke, and nowhere on the mortal realm would be safe to her. He wouldn't suffer Luke's existence any longer, especially if a wayward demon were aiding him. He'd see fit to slay the both of them, himself. It was only a matter of time before he realized his pet demon had failed.

But that mattered little to her, in comparison. They had finally said the words. Three simple little words that encapsulated so much feeling, so much trust. She had never said them to anyone before in all her years, but she had no other way to describe the feeling that had been brewing in her bosom for some time, now. Hearing him say the same...How could something feel so good, it hurt? Why did it ache to hear a good thing? Maybe part of her didn't think she deserved it. Like he had always tried telling her, she deserved better, and right now...Right this second...She could have it.

Tears trickled from the corners of her eyes. Not a thought went through her head. She waited for the first break between their lips to mumble the words back to him again, trying not to choke up. He answered by kissing her forehead, shaking his hand through her hair. Little incubus could have all the love she wanted. It was all right here.

~~End of Ch. 8~~

Chapter 9: Almighty Messengers

Chapter Text

Incubus Erika

Part III ‑ "Wingless"

By: Jesse Racine AKA Samson

Original Date Written: March 19, 2017

After Erika had calmed herself, she and Luke were left in a somewhat awkward silence. For Erika, it was as unbearable as ever, but after what he had just said...For once in her life, she was actually feeling a little speechless. What was she supposed to say, now? She had never told anybody she loved them, before, and he apparently felt the same way...Of course he did, he wouldn't have come this far if he hadn't felt something legitimate. If he hadn't felt anything, this all would've been one hell of a long con. What happened now? Was anything supposed to change?...Did things just go on, the same way? It had hurt so good to hear the words, she just...Was at a loss, now. Maybe he really felt the same. He had certainly seemed surprised to hear her admit it, anyway.

Eventually, she could take the silence no longer. In truth, it had only been a couple of minutes since they had finished dealing with Balthazar's pet, but the deafening silence following Luke's answer to her confession had felt like an eternity. She gave his hips a resolute patting, somewhat brusquely easing herself out of their embrace. Looking up at him, she put on a smile, finally breaking the quiet with a relieved "...Y'know, that wasn't so bad, right? I mean, look at us!" She grinned, arching an eyebrow as she waved her hands down across the front of her body, then lightly rapped the back of her hands against his stomach, clapping his armour.

"We got out fine, and that wasn't such a hard fight, right? It didn't last us all day, and neither of us wound up dead. Nobody even lost a limb! An all-around win!" Her grin turning a hint forced, she couldn't maintain her confident tone as she added "Now, if we can just do this for Balthazar, too, I'll be amazed." She couldn't see his halfhearted smile, not with the sun down. He brought a hand up from one of her shoulders, but when he playfully shook his fingers through her hair, she only sucked her teeth, looked away, and tilted her head away from his hand, remarking "Hey, knock that off, already. It takes a lot of work to style my hair into something cute, especially with all my hair care stuff up in smoke."

He smiled more earnestly, audibly holding back a chuckle as he remarked "As if messy hair could make you less beautiful." Her eyes turned back to his. Her smile turned a bit rueful, a bit bittersweet. Was that all he had to say, after his life had been saved from a big, nasty demon? Was that it, after dropping the love bomb? He watched her for a moment, his smile slowly wilting. She glanced down, then off to the side, eyeing the demon's remains. Little more than a black, tarry substance stained the ground, leaving the grass yellowed. When that thing woke up in Hell, it'd have one heck of an interesting story for Balthazar. As nonchalantly as she could, she remarked "...So, hey, what're we standing around here, for? Job's done, let's get out of here, already. Let's go back home."

Luke took a second. "...Yeah, let's go," he eventually answered, smile barely strengthening. His tone was...A little misleading, like he wasn't saying what he actually wanted to say, what was on his mind. He was just putting up an act, just the same as her. Her expression quickly went ashen, downcast, as she turned and led the way. What was wrong? What had happened between them, all of a sudden? What had she expected to happen? She was just being moody, she thought. She had plenty on her mind, but did he, too, or was he just trying to puzzle her out? Her jaw gently tightened. No, she wasn't going to let this elephant hog the room. Once they were at camp, she'd speak her mind and invite him to do the same. Clear the air, a touch.

He didn't try making small talk on the way, and again, a painfully crushing silence drifted between them. Once they had returned to his camp, she made a beeline for his tent, and as she eased open the flaps, she looked back at him from over her shoulder, nodded him over, and confidently requested "Hey, c'mon, for a second. I have a bit before I should run off and get in a meal or two. Let's sit inside. I wanted to talk to you about something...It's important to me. I don't want to put it off. Trust me." Now, his response wasn't guarded. Looking a hint surprised, he sounded legitimately interested as he made his way over, answering "Sure, what's on your mind?"

She nodded to the side again, then ducked her head as she stepped into his tent. It took him a couple minutes, but once he was out of his damaged armour, he moved to join her. He left the flaps open as he entered behind her, letting his bonfire cast a narrow curtain of light into the tent's interior, giving them enough of a glow to at least see each other. Erika gave an inwards sigh as she sat down towards one side of his bed, plopping herself down on her knees until she could sit back against her bone heels. He eased himself down across from her, crossing his legs so he could put his elbows to his knees. Before she could speak, he looked at her with a fairly neutral expression on his face. A little lightly, he prompted her on, soothingly commenting "So, what's eating you, Erika? Something's been on your mind ever since the demon died, I can tell."

Erika briefly tilted her head just a little to the side, drawing in a quick breath through her nose before noisily exhaling. Her eyes shifted downwards, but after a second, she looked back up to his own and readily confronted him. Looking just as neutral as he did, she asked "Let's not beat around the bush. This is already gnawing at me, and I need to hear an answer. When you said you love me...Did you mean it, or did you just say it because I said it?" She raised her eyebrows, but her expression otherwise didn't shift. A bit curtly, she added "Because, I don't want you to say it if you feel forced. Those words mean something, to me. If you don't mean it, don't say it. That's all."

His brow knitting a little, his head subtly recoiled back, a touch. He started to smile - evidently, he was a little confused, a little surprised, at what she was suggesting. "Erika, I feel the same way," he readily asserted. The resoluteness in his tone quickly livened up the look in her eyes. "Those words aren't something I'd just toss around," he reassured. "They mean something to me. I said it because I meant it. I love you." He smiled wider, one of his eyebrows quirking up a tad as he dropped his voice to a mumble. "I guess I should thank you. You're making it nice and clear that you meant it, too. Honestly? It feels good. Bit of a dramatic way to do it, however." With a light chuckle, he nonchalantly asked "Was that all that was eating at you?"

She started to smile, wider and wider. She dropped her chin a little, looking down at the blankets by her knees. So, he had meant it, after all...Why had she even doubted him? "...Yeah, that was all," she eventually murmured, sitting up on her knees. She was just being foolish, she thought. She gave a faint sniffle as she met his eyes, but then she was giving a deep, contented exhale through her nose, leaning into him as she wrapped her arms around his neck. With a happy grumble, a fulfilled groan in her throat, she squeezed him tight against her body, closing her eyes as she hooked her chin into the space between his shoulder and neck. He took her by the hips, and after a moment, one went to the small of her back, gently rubbing near the base of her tail.

They held each other for a few moments before, slowly, they began to slide their hands off of each other. As she held his shoulders and leaned back a little, she couldn't help but notice the melancholy on his face, likely not quite as subtle as he might've liked. In his mind, he probably thought he just looked passive, but Erika could see the tired look in his eyes, the faint dip at the corners of his mouth. She immediately pulled a face, briefly puffing out a cheek as she puckered her lips off to the side. Brow flat, eyes falling half-closed, she mumbled "...That's a funny look to have on your face, right about now. I just gave you a nice, lovey-dovey hug. Just having my tits against you should make you smile. What's eating you, now?"

He gave an amused smile, some life returning to his eyes. Before he could say anything to change the subject, though, she added "C'mon, what's on your mind, now. You haven't been yourself ever since we kicked that demon's ass in. I can read people too, you know." Raising her eyebrows high, she briefly widened her eyes and gave a big smile as she quipped "Good teamwork, by the way. He never knew what hit him." Her expression relaxing until she was merely innocently smirking, she gently brushed the back of her fingers across his cheek as she commented "And here I thought that you were put-off because something was so clearly bugging me. Now, you're just showing me I was wrong. What's eating you?"

She tittered, grinned, and added "Besides the usual, I mean." His smile turned into a smirk, as well. He lightly shook his head and turned his head a little, looking off to the side. "Nothing, it's-" She immediately kicked up her compulsion, prompting a warm, golden glow to flood from her eyes, covering his face. "You'll tell me all your deepest, darkest secrets," she teasingly commanded, voice echoing unnaturally as she grinned. His smirk became another smile, but he didn't look into her eyes as he patiently droned out "Very funny, Erika." "Well, I try," she quipped, a faint chuckle catching in her throat as she grinned from ear to ear.

Her grin only slowly relaxing, she dropped her compulsion and tilted her head to the side, trying to reinsert herself into his direct field of view. He exhaled deeply through his nose, his eyes drifting downwards. His tone a little more convincingly blase this time around, he slowly offered "Just thinking about something. Something, uh...A little personal." Her grin wilted. He wearily drew in a breath through his nose, briefly raising a hand to wipe a fingerprint down the inside corner of an eye. His eyes shifting a little more in her direction, he explained "I'm just thinking about how this might never stop. That demon was only the beginning. Even if Balthazar comes up after you and we kill him, it won't stop. You're a rogue demon, now. Killing Balthazar will just draw more attention to you. I'm worried."

His expression turned a little more ashen, a little more lifeless...A little more empty. Again, he wasn't smiling with even his eyes. He gave a deep, quiet sigh through his nose, a brief twinge crossing his face as he softly offered "...And, there was something else I was told, earlier today. By Heaven, I mean. I'm still thinking it over." Lightly arching an eyebrow, he still wouldn't make eye contact as he added "I'm not sure if I'm supposed to tell you, or not. It makes everything make more sense for me, but it isn't helping you, keeping it a secret."

She watched him, expression going a little tense, a little hard."Tell me what," she prodded, not too gently, not too forcefully. His throat visibly flexed as he quietly swallowed. His eyes turned downwards. "I want to tell you," he noncommitally offered. Instead of prodding him again, she raised her eyebrows, smiled, and jokingly remarked "What, do I have to suck it outta you? Tell me what?" He didn't respond for a couple seconds. Finally, his eyes flicked over in her direction. He blinked, gave a curt, quiet sigh, and raised his chin back up, properly facing her once more. A little more resolutely, he said "Okay...I'm just trying to find the words."

His lips were left parted, a crack, as he quietly sucked in a breath between his teeth. His brow subtly knitted as he said "I didn't want to tell you, I didn't want to have to. I knew that, at least when we first met, it wouldn't help me reach out to you. Now, however, I'm starting to think it might be the strongest thing I could say to you. I just don't even know where to begin." He raised his eyebrows, gave a glance to the side, and offered a little shrug as he lightly shook his head. "I, uh," he mumbled, trailing off. He held his breath for a moment, mouth hanging ajar as he tried to find the words. After a moment, he practically winced, mumbling "...Sorry, I don't really know how to start this."

She gave him a bit of a look, trying not to look a little pouty as she put her hands to her curvaceous hips. Her voice a little low, she drawled out "Oh, c'mon, Luke. Just spill it, already. What you're giving me, right now, is the verbal equivalent of blue balls. What the heck is making you act this way?" He looked back into her eyes, raised his eyebrows, and rather nonchalantly answered "Well, uh...Something big about me that I've never told you before would be a good candidate." She simply raised her eyebrows right back at him. He gave her an innocent, if somewhat rueful, smile.

She slowly narrowed her eyes a little, dryly mumbling "Well. Colour me intrigued, mister paladin. You've been keeping secrets from me, huh? You're sure building this up to be some sort of world-shattering revelation. It's probably just gonna be something like how I'm not your first boyfriend, or something. Big whoop." Her tone going a little more flat, she arched her eyebrows and remarked "How's this: I'll go get in my meal for the night, and while I'm gone, you can figure out how you're gonna start this super secret, super dramatic confession you wanna throw at me." She cracked a nasty smile. "And if you don't," she cooed in a babyish voice, "I'll just hafta suck it outta ya, won't I, mister? That'll get yer tongue wagging!" Her brow furrowing, she more seriously warned "...And then I'll fuckin' snowball you for wasting my time, like this. Got it?"

He barely winced. Raising a hand to the back of his neck, he idly scratched down a shoulder blade as he quietly groaned "I'll try to figure out a good way to start this, but no promises...We're going to have to cover a lot of stuff." Slowly rising to her feet, she made a clear show of muttering under her breath loudly enough for him to discern, remarking "...Why am I getting this crazy feeling of dread? He's gonna tell me he was never actually a paladin, or something..." Luke smiled, barely hummed a chuckle, and answered "I heard that. I am a paladin, you know. Haven't I done enough to prove it, by now?"

She grumbled, tossing him the evil eye. She turned and made for the tent flaps, but as soon as her back was turned to him, she was quickly looking more and more downcast. She eased aside one of the flaps to step outside, but hesitated. She turned a little, looking back at him by her shoulder. The corners of her mouth barely dipping in a frown, she dropped the teasing, the playing, all the acting to make light of the way he worried her. Trying her best not to sound crushed lest the sound of her own voice make her eyes dampen, she mumbled "...It's nothing really bad, is it?"

Slowly, his face opened with a bit of surprise. Evidently, he hadn't thought he'd have such an effect on her. He began to stand, likely to follow after her. Hurriedly in his desire to console her, he answered "No, no, it's just something about me that's pretty important...And it's about us, in a way. I want to tell you because I don't want to keep it a secret anymore, and maybe it'll help show you that God still loves you. It's just..." He looked a little embarrassed, then, as he remarked "...I don't think you're gonna see this coming, and I have no idea, at all, how I'm gonna start this. I just hope it doesn't change how you think of me."

Erika's face twisted up. She impotently threw her hands up, turned back around, and loudly blurted out "Aw, you can't just say something like that and expect me to run off for a couple hours, it's gonna drive me fucking crazy! Just tell me now, what is it?"

He gently raised his hands to slow her down, soothingly saying "Erika, c'mon, let's-"

She started to look more and more indignant. "You're building this up, too much! You're starting to freak me out, over here! What's the big life-changing secret?" Luke raised his eyebrows, looking at her rather intently as he, with genuine sincerity that immediately captured her attention, put the breaks on the Erika Train before she could run right off the tracks. He reached out and lightly took her by the shoulders, nearly cooing as he watched her eyes, murmuring "No, calm down. Settle down, okay? You need to get a meal in, don't starve yourself just because of this. It might take a while, is all. I'll tell you everything, don't worry. I don't want this to be something we have to talk about just before Balthazar shows up...Or after, God willing."

He gave a weary sigh, then mumbled "I just don't even know where to begin. Give me a little bit of time to get my thoughts in order. I promise, a lot of things will probably make more sense, after. Just...Go, give me a while. I'll be ready by the time you get back." He shrugged with his eyebrows, momentarily tilted his head to the side, and added "...I hope." She stared at him for a few moments, looking subtly agonized at the demand he was laying upon her. He needed time? After all this? Well, excuse her, but she wasn't sure she could afford this uppity holy man time when he's worked her nerves into a lather! What if he...What if he said something along the lines of, their relationship just didn't mean as much to him as it did to her?

...Funny. Of all the things he could've said, her mind went to that, first. Silly. There were a dozen worse things he could've intended to say. Suppose it went to show where her priorities lay, these days. She couldn't help but overtly pout, a little. "...Fine," she quietly mumbled. He let his hands slip from her shoulders as she turned around, again. In more of a mutter now, she ordered "But, you better be ready by the time I get back." He gave a nod, confidently answering "I'll do my best. I think I'm already putting it together, in my head." She clenched her jaw a little, but then she was walking away from his tent, getting some distance before stretching her wings. It would've been so easy to wait if she just told herself not to care, but her imagination had already gotten the best of her.

Her feedings went by in a blur. She might've gotten in just the one victim before heading back, if she didn't think Luke needed more time. She might've stopped at two, if she weren't so distracted by her own thoughts that she wound up mindlessly grabbing a third. The meals, let alone the sex, should've occupied her mind well enough, but she could barely even take her thoughts off of Luke long enough to halfheartedly flirt with her victims. Finally, stuffed on life force siphoned from lewd maidens, she winged her way back to Luke's camp, trying not to let a cold sensation settle in her gut along the way. He really had a way of working her up, when he wanted to. Reflecting on how much power he could have over her was a little dismaying, but hardly provoked the defensive response one might've expected.

As she dropped down into his campsite, the moon still going strong above her head all the while, she did her best to settle her nerves. Ready or not, for better or worse, this was the moment of truth. Whatever big, monumental thing he wanted to reveal to her, now was the time...And if he hadn't found the words yet, by God, she'd pound them out of him. Dropping down on her horn heels with a thud, she glanced around, calling out "Luke? I'm back! Talky time, right? No more stalling, I've given you plenty of prep time!"

"I'm in here," she heard him call back from inside his tent. Walking over, she pulled aside one of the flaps, dropped her head to look inside, and raised an eyebrow. There he sat, cross-legged and in virtually the same exact spot he had been in when they had last talked, earlier than night. He gave her a smile, tossing a glance at the "appropriated" corset bundled up under her arm, a vivid pink to match the lingerie she had swiped the night before. Her eyes quickly running down and up his body, she looked decidedly unimpressed as she dryly remarked "...Have you even budged a muscle since I left? You just been sitting in here, all this time?"

He raised his eyebrows, smiled wider, and gave a bit of a shift in his spot as he shrugged. Nonchalantly, he exhaled "Well, I wanted to put some real thought into this. Needed to figure it out before I went off, half-baked." She smiled, arched an eyebrow, and chirped "So, you're ready, then? Ready to expose your super dramatic secret?" Narrowing her eyes, her smile grew a touch nastier as she cooed "You sure you don't wanna stall for another night or two? You're sure, now?" He raised his eyebrows, gave a slow blink, smiled from ear to ear, and patiently answered "I'm quite sure, Erika. Come on, sit down, already."

She grinned, a little. Stepping into the tent, she made herself as at home as ever, dropping her new corset into a pile by his side. Then, with a weary, groaning sigh, she dropped herself down in front of him, immediately breaking into a yawn as she eased herself down over her side. Sprawling out, she gave a stretch, face adorably scrunching up as she gave a flex with her wings, her tail giving a trembling flex as it straightened out before drooping low. Smacking her lips, she gave him a sleepy look as she propped her jaw up in a hand, supporting herself on an elbow. Smiling, she passively murmured "Alrighty, then. Go ahead. I'm listening."

He looked a little conflicted, for a moment. Maybe he couldn't tell if she were really interested, or not...Maybe her act was fooling him. After the fuss she had initially put up, seeing her act so blase about the big talk was clearly putting him off-kilt. He looked downwards towards the tent floor for several seconds, then looked away from her general direction, peering out the tent door. She watched him eye the bonfire for several uncomfortably long moments, but then, he was finally looking back over to her. Her smile only strengthened at how wound up he was getting. His whole body was coiling up like a spring, and his jaw could only tighten as his eyes went heavy-lidded.

She might've teased him and prodded him on, if he didn't eventually open his mouth a second later. He paused for a moment before, his eyes finding her's again, he finally spoke. His voice low, each word a bit strained as if he needed to struggle to get them out, he explained "...I wasn't...Completely honest with you, when we first met. I know where you're from and what your mortal name was because..." His jaw gently clenched. His eyes barely dropped from her's, then rose back up. His eyes barely went half-closed in a subtle wince as he finished his thought. "...Because I was there," he admitted, voice low.

Erika's smile promptly withered away, leaving her face ashen. They just stared at each other for a couple seconds before one corner of Erika's mouth fired back up in a big, skeptical smirk. Trying not to chuckle, she narrowed an eye at him, blurting out "The hell are you on about? I already know you did research on me before hunting me. Yeah, you were probably there, all right. You probably swung by Canders and heard folk legends about the little village boy who turned into an incubus, I'm sure there's plenty." Luke blinked, brow gently knitting. "That's what I mean," he patiently clarified. "I didn't have to do research or hear legends, because I was actually there...During your lifetime."

Again, Erika's face went dead. Her smirk dropped, and a simple lack of comprehension began to fill her eyes. They stared at each other for a few moments more, and slowly, a queer sort of response began to bubble out of him. He started to smile a little, and although it seemed bittersweet, there was a relieved sparkle in his eyes. He gave a faint chortle from the adrenaline, then dropped his eyes and composed himself. His teeth lightly went on edge before he clenched them. One last time, purely for clarification's sake, he quietly insisted "...I knew you when you were still Eric Stryker. Middle name was Namith, after your great-uncle. He was a knight for the then-duke's father. You told me the story, this one time we went down to the lake. It still doesn't feel all that long ago, to me."

Erika's blood chilled. Her head was devoid of thoughts. A mixture of shock and total confusion kept her from saying anything, doing anything, and most importantly of all, jumping to any conclusions, good or ill. Luke drew in a breath through his nose, raised his eyebrows at her, and gestured her closer with a little wave of his hand. His voice a hint strained, the telltale coarseness of the beginnings of tightening, he murmured "Come here...There's something I want to show you. I want you to look into my libido, again. There's something I don't think you noticed."

She kept staring for a moment or two, then slowly pushed herself up to her knees. Looking a little more confused, eyes going a hint resentful at this cruel joke, she quietly mumbled "Luke, this isn't funny..." "I'm not joking, Erika, please trust me," he firmly asked, watching her earnestly. Her lips shifted in disquiet. She shuffled closer to him on her knees, and as she raised her hand to his forehead, he reached up and took her by the wrist, guiding her. She watched her thumb come closer to his forehead, but she dropped her eyes to his at the last second. When her print touched him, she reached out to tap into his sex drive, and again, he let her in...Only this time, it was more focused.

She rushed to the stars, but the taste was short-lived. His libido barely went into her, at all. Instead of being subjected to his desires, instead of being assailed with a sensory overload, she was brought straight to one of the earliest kinks on his list. She couldn't quite understand what was happening - it had never happened that the process could be manipulated in such a way, but whatever was going on, she knew Luke had to be responsible. Only he, with his mental walls, could cut everything out besides where he wanted her to go, what he wanted her to experience. She should've expected that if a paladin with the strength of will to keep her out still let her in, he might've been able to lock off zones to deny her ammunition.

The fantasy he wanted her to see was bland, less a specific scenario and more simply an overarching taste. It was a modest scene, uninspired, so much so that it didn't actually possess any overt carnality. It was representative. It was merely "that cocky girly-boy across the street, so brave."

Erika stared at the scene before her. It was a short experience, an aged one, but still crisp and colourful with the emotion invested into it. On a dusty old dirt road, simple wooden homes acting as the backdrop in a long row, a young boy, not even really a man yet, was walking along. The point of view was coming at him from a diagonal angle, at his rear but towards his right side.

Luke's voice quietly echoed out from all around her, filling her mind. "Do you recognize him, Erika?"

Erika kept staring as the memory looped itself, over and over again. "I...No...?"

The boy didn't look older than fourteen or fifteen. He wasn't particularly tall, in fact, he was downright petite. His frame was slender, svelte. His hair was brown, cut straight across his jaw. He was wearing a fairly tight, form-fitting tank top that didn't quite reach down far enough to entirely cover his midsection, coloured a dark purple. To go with it, he wore a pair of shorts that would've been a little too small and a little too tight on even a girl, purple trimmed with pink. Down his smooth legs, he wore a pair of plain white socks pulled up high alongside an old pair of black leather shoes, buckled tight. Not bad, for a village boy surrounded by farms. Maybe looking good had concerned him.

As the point of view came closer, the boy idly looked over his shoulder towards it, a big, cocky smirk on his face. His footsteps faltered when he saw the approacher, his shoulders barely turned, and his mouth eased open, but the memory didn't go on long enough to let her hear his voice. Erika simply stared at his face, over and over again. He looked...Vaguely familiar. Unsettlingly so. She didn't want to think about why. Dread turned her stomach cold and tight. His hazel eyes were happy to see whoever was in the point of view she was observing from. He was cute, a bit effeminate maybe, with pouty lips that never seemed to stop smiling.

Her eyes flicked to the side when she finally noticed the little beauty spot he had, right by the side of his left eye, a tiny little black dot just below the outside corner.

"That was you, Erika...Do you remember anything?"

"No," she blurted out, mentally pushing back. She didn't think he could exactly stop her, but he didn't even attempt to, anyway. She pushed his sexual energy back into him, cutting the mental tie between the two of them, severing herself from his libido. As soon as she was free, she scrambled back, falling onto her rear as she pushed herself as far away from him as she could, pressing her wings up against the tent wall. Eyes a little wide, jaw clenched tight, she stared down at his knees for just a moment before locking her eyes on his. For some reason, she found herself furious, bitter, even. Why? She couldn't say. But when she saw the look on his face, the tears glimmering in his eyes, her tongue failed her. She couldn't bring herself to defensively chew him out.

He was audibly trying to keep his voice from tightening. At times, he would watch her eyes, and at others, he couldn't seem to maintain eye contact. With every word he spoke, however, she found herself feeling less and less guarded. This wasn't like him. He wouldn't lie, not like this. "I knew you about eighty-five years ago," he started off. Shrugging with his eyebrows, he earnestly offered "My name was still Luke, back then, so I haven't been lying to you about that, if it makes any difference." He dropped his chin a little, swallowed, and added "We had lived down the road from each other our whole lives, but we never really paid much attention to each other, right?...We had our own things going on. Family and school. No shared friends. Nothing made us say hi."

She stared at him, the cold sensation in her stomach spreading to her chest. She didn't know why, but there was something about what he was saying that made her eyes sting. Even if she didn't know what he was talking about, the emotion he was putting into it was infectious, perhaps. She couldn't help but reciprocate. Luke briefly bit his lip, then drew in a sharp breath, coughed to clear his throat, and gave a little shrug. "Then, I don't know," he mumbled, "we just seemed to notice each other, one day...Puberty, probably. By that point, you were already getting into trouble for looking too...Well...Girly. Other kids picked on you a little, your parents probably had to deal with weird looks from other parents...But, you didn't seem to care, you took it in stride."

Luke gave a breathless half-smile as he met her eyes, enthusiastically blurting out "No matter what happened, you didn't seem to care! You didn't care what people thought of you, you just kept being yourself! You weren't manly enough, you were too girly, but you didn't care. You seemed happy, even though more and more people in Canders were avoiding you. You almost seemed to like it, like you were being a rebel. I always thought to myself, "He's a damn brave one," you know? I knew that if I were in your shoes, I wouldn't have been able to just try and stand up to the whole village. I would've just done what I needed to in order to get by...And that's exactly what I ended up doing."

Erika's jaw eased open, a touch. Her eyes drifted off to the side, then found his, again. Something...Something was coming back to her. Maybe? She could almost catch a glimpse of something, at the fringes of her mind. A place, a time, a scent, a feeling...It was too ephemeral to pin down. Luke brought a hand to his chest, watching her eyes, his half-smile dying. "I wish I had had your courage. I still do. Even when the whole village turned against you, called you a heretic, called you a blasphemer and a pervert, you took it in stride. It just never seemed to weigh you down! I admired you, and when we finally met...You were the closest friend I had. We understood each other."

She tried to mumble his name to slow him down, to allow herself a chance to breathe, but he kept going, blurting out his confession before the weight crushed him. He dropped his chin, his eyes glimmering stronger until he had to take a sniffle. "At the time," he said, "I was just starting to train into the priesthood, so people thought I was just trying to fix you. They didn't get it. At first, we were just friends, but there was something about you I couldn't get enough of. You were so energetic, so full of life. You never said no to anything, you were always trying to rope me into some big adventure, some hike into the woods or some day-long trip to the lake, then you'd laugh at the trouble we got into. You always made me laugh like nobody else could...You never took yourself too seriously, a-and even the way people treated you, you were always ready to laugh it off..."

"I stopped the other kids from picking on you. It wasn't too hard. Even at that age, I was big. They were more scared of me than they wanted to hassle you. Eventually, something happened between us." His eyes went off to the side, seemingly out of embarrassment. "...Like I said," he mumbled, "we understood each other." He gave a sheepish smile, looked her in the eyes again, and admitted "We had our first kiss, together." Erika's pupils tightened to slits. At last, the memory came to her. It was the briefest flash from the back of her head, but she knew it couldn't have been fabricated. The two of them were behind her family's barn, nobody else was in sight, and with his back to the wall, she had reached up, pulled him down by his neck, and...Those lips of his...

Realization dawned in her eyes, making them widen. Those lips of his. They had always stood out to her, drawn her eye. Was that why? Luke curled his lips in and bit them both as he looked off to the side. A trickle ran from an eye. He took in a sniffle and, voice a little tighter, he confessed "I was too scared to do like you, I couldn't...I couldn't just be myself. I knew it'd make everyone treat me like they treated you, a-and I was scared. I didn't have your courage. As far as anyone knew, we were just friends. You...You didn't actually care that I didn't say anything, but it ate at me. You didn't want me to suffer like you did, but not saying anything was the worst thing I could've done."

He hung his head down. "I made you stand alone," he mumbled. "I should've said something and showed everyone th-that you weren't alone. Maybe then, you wouldn't have seemed like such an easy target, or like such an outsider. But, I was a coward...I was too scared to face the village, or have everyone think differently of me, e-even if it protected you. I knew I was failing you, but I didn't realize how badly until later on." His breathing turning more regular, he gently cleared his throat, then got out "Just shy of a year after we met...A sickness passed through the village. It didn't touch me, but it got you. I couldn't even see you, after that. It was contagious."

Erika's lips barely shifted. "Red Fever," she muttered. Luke nodded, looking up into her eyes. His mouth hung open for a moment as he gave a subtle shake with his head. "Your family, just like every other family, did everything they could to stop the spread once word got around. I wanted to see you so badly, but it wasn't just your family that stopped me, my family did, too. And then, one day...Your big sister just came, sat me down, and told me that you were gone." At that, Luke was visibly moved. Tears began to trickle from both eyes, and his voice started to choke up. "I didn't even get to say goodbye," he muttered, clenching his jaw to try and calm himself.

"I told myself th-that, you must've had family with you when it happened, but...Then you told me that you were alone when it happened," he mumbled, shaking his head. He looked down at the tent floor, tears running free. "When we met again, I kept asking you about your past to see how much you remembered. I didn't know if you'd remember me, or not...But, most of it was burned away, wasn't it?..." He sniffled, shook his head again, and finished with a curt "I went on with my life, but I never forgot you...I couldn't. It stuck with me, forever. And then, eventually...I died, too." Erika blinked. Trying to blink away the moisture in her eyes, she couldn't help but ask for more, too confused to mumble more than a simple "What do you mean?"

He just shook his head. She watched him, rooted in place, every muscle stiff as a board. The answer was staring her in the face, but she was too stunned to see it, then and there. She needed to hear him say it for it to register. She waited a short bit for him to continue, but it tore at her too much to simply sit there and watch him in that state. She moved, shifted her legs until she got over her knees. Crawling closer on all fours, she sat up tall on her knees when she reached him. She lightly took him by the back of his head with both hands, then pulled him closer, guiding the side of his face against her bared cleavage, hugging him to her chest. He didn't fight her, and it didn't seem to take much more than a minute before he was settling back down.

She smiled a little, one hand to the back of his neck as the other stroked through his hair. She gave a sniffle as he breathed a heavy sigh against her chest. Quietly, she teased him a little, lightheartedly cooing "Look at you...C'mon, man up. I thought I was the sensitive one, between us. Here I am, mothering you to calm you down. For shame, Luke..." "This isn't funny, Erika," he quietly mumbled. Still smiling, she murmured "I know. But, until you tell me what you meant..." He pulled his head back and looked up at her, a somewhat perplexed look coming over him, like he were a little befuddled that he needed to spell it out for her. "I died, Erika," he simply repeated, his voice low. "I went to Heaven...And you weren't there."

She blinked, her expression going blank. Wait. Use your head, Erika. Gather your thoughts, stop being in such a daze, and really listen to what he's saying. He isn't lying, that's obvious enough. But, if he's telling the truth...Then...

"...Oh my God," she breathed out, slowly letting go of him. She dropped back with a thud, dropping to her bottom with a look of abject bewilderment crossing her face. He gently nodded. Her vision blurred as fresh tears flooded her eyes. No, of course. She should've clued in to what he was saying the instant he said he had known her during her mortal life. Everything made more sense, now. The way he was so personally invested in seeing her redeemed, the way he wouldn't give up on her, the way he had always believed she deserved a better fate, the way he had such unshakable faith in her...It wasn't just because he was a naive, stubborn paladin. It wasn't just because he had known her in life. It was...

But how? Why?

Luke was obviously doing his best to maintain his regained composure as he nodded, again. Softly, he murmured "You weren't there, waiting for me. That's when I realized...That's when everything became clear to me." Her body felt numb. Tears streaked her cheeks worse as she watched him explain, his voice almost passing in and out between her numbed ears. He raised his eyebrows, brought a hand by his chest, and confessed "I realized that by not standing with you, by leaving you alone to everyone's hate, I had helped get you sent to Hell...By even introducing myself to you, I had only made things worse for you. Being your friend fuelled rumours, gave people more excuses. I had failed you, and the cost had been too high."

His eyes glistened anew as he lightly shook his head. His hands clenched into fists, and he dropped the one from his chest to his knee. He glanced off to the side, blurting out "I can't...I can't even begin to tell you how guilty I felt. I've never felt ashamed like that, before or since. But..." He slowed down, looking back into her eyes as he murmured "...God loves all of us. He knew you hadn't been lost, yet. He knew you hadn't let Hell have you, inside and out...And He knew He had wronged you. I think that's part of why He let you go to Hell...He knew He wouldn't actually lose you. When it came time for an angel to try and redeem you and guide you back to Heaven...I was the obvious choice."

He raised his eyebrows, taking in a single subdued sniffle. Erika started to hang her head down, raising a hand to her forehead, covering her eyes. "We all want you back, Erika," he breathed. "I never lost my memories, when I died...Angels usually don't. I never forgot you...Nobody did. We're sorry, we didn't know what we were doing. Your family misses you-"

"Stop it," she snapped, voice choked up.

"I was reincarnated as a normal human baby, with a new human family," Luke quietly explained. "Even as an infant, I knew why I was there. I knew what I had to do. I knew you were out there, somewhere, trying to get on with your life. God guided me along. I grew up with the new parents, joined the Blessed Order, and became a paladin. I knew that if I simply appeared to you out of the blue, you'd just fight me. You'd sense I was an angel, and you'd just kill me without asking questions...I needed a slower way to reach out to you, and a pure stranger would only make you suspicious. So, I lived that second mortal life, became a paladin, and approached you that way. A paladin who wanted to talk, not fight, would give you pause."

"I said stop, Luke," she blurted out, voice tightened even more.

Tears crept from the corners of his eyes as he watched her struggle. "I can't go back, Erika...Not because I'm a paladin. Forget the hunt. I can't go back to Heaven until either I've redeemed you, I've died, or we reach an impasse and you insist, really insist in your heart, that you don't want help." He smiled, gave a bit of a chuckle, and shrugged. Briefly closing his eyes, he dropped his chin, his voice lowering to a mumble as he said "When I saw you again, I was honestly pretty surprised to see you so...Womanly. I knew you had become an incubus, so I thought you'd look the same as you used to. Finding you so beautiful, instead, well...Uh...I thought you'd like it if I called you a girl. That's why I kept calling you a succubus, at first. Surprised me again when you said you still feel like a boy. After that, I was just teasing with the succubus stuff."

He gave another chuckle, obviously to try and lighten the mood. Instead, she just got up and hurried out of the tent, prompting him to call her name and scramble after her. She was already opening her wings when he grabbed her by the wrist, pulling her to turn her around and face him. Hastily, he pleaded "Erika, please, don't go, I know I just dumped a lot on you-" "Luke, I'm sorry, I can't deal with this right now,"she curtly said, defiantly tearing her hand away from his. He responded by going in, pulling her into a hug of his own, smothering her face into his sweater.

"God still loves you," he offered, prompting her to try feebly pushing him away. "He sent me to try and save you, but He's not the reason I really care! He just wanted to make everyone happy, I know what He did wasn't right-" "Luke," she blurted out, more forcibly tearing herself out of his arms, stumbling back a step to keep him at arm's reach. She winced before her gesture could even hurt him, her face twisting up as she unsteadily said "Please...Just stop, for now. You...I...Jesus, I need some time to digest this, man...Gimme some breathing room, God damn it...Please, stop."

He swallowed, dropping his chin as he nodded. She watched his face for a couple seconds. He understood. He may not have been in complete control of his faculties, at the moment - neither of them were - but he wasn't so stubborn that he expected her to just instantly swallow what he was saying and then react the way he wanted her to. She eventually raised her hand to the side of his face, touching his cheek. Opening her wings again, she started to beat, lifting herself up until she were level with him. Before he could flinch away from the buffeting, she craned her neck, pressing a deep, brief peck to his lips. "I'll be back," she quietly reassured. Then, she was lifting higher, turning, and taking off, letting the wind dry her eyes.

She did indeed take a while to organize her thoughts, but not nearly as long as she or Luke might've expected. Perhaps her hunger to question him drove her back. Perhaps it was simpler to accept the idea that God had sent him to her than she had initially suspected. Still...The drama he had stewed her in prior to his confession made much more sense, in hindsight. The things he had told her...No wonder he had wanted to keep it to himself, at first. Where did she even begin? She knew he wasn't lying, but...The idea that they had known each other, at one point...She couldn't remember, and that bothered her more than she cared to admit. Certainly, she had lost a lot of bad when the memories had been taken, but...If there had been good, too, then...Maybe...

In the end, she wasn't actually sure how she felt. She wasn't thinking much about God or what Luke claimed He intended to do. That was settled more in buried feelings than real introspection, and perhaps she was wrong to let that happen. She spent more time thinking about Luke, reflecting on the things he had said to her ever since they had met, the things he had done, the things he had tried to do. Everything was given a new context, knowing now that his quest to redeem her had so much more pinned onto it. He had always tried to shield her from the truth, rather than dump the overwhelming reality onto her head. It must've killed him to have to keep up the deception...To know what he did, and know she remembered virtually nothing.

In the end...She just wanted to talk, more. Maybe the truth hadn't hurt her, or maybe she was simply quick to forgive him. She truly didn't know. Either way, she returned, just like she said she would. Just shy of two hours away, she winged back toward his camp, descended, and dropped hard onto her horn heels about thirty paces away from the site. They had so much to talk about, and maybe now that they'd both thought it over and gotten a hold of themselves, they could do it a bit more lucidly. Without saying a word, she walked over, peering around for the tall paladin. Eventually, she stepped up to the tent, leaned over a little, and eased aside one of the flaps.

There he lay, resting overtop his blanket, one hand on his stomach with the back of the other to his forehead. She watched him for a moment, then nonchalantly announced herself with a simple "Hey..." He sat up in a hurry, dropping his hand from his forehead to his lap. He looked to be in better shape, but judging by the hint of surprise in his tone, he might've been expecting her to take longer. "Oh, hey, you're back," he said, a tad curtly. She smiled, and rather innocently, at that. She offered the gesture of a quiet "Can I come in?" He briefly gestured a hand towards his left side, answering "Uh, yeah, of course. Please, sit down."

One corner of her smile rose higher, for a moment. She stepped inside and sat down with a weary groan, putting herself at a right angle with him, touching her right knee to his left. Like him, she crossed her legs underneath herself, idly resting her hands inside her lap. He watched the way she gave an amused smile, her brow knitting up as she looked off at nothing in particular, eyes drifting off in his general direction. She gave a chortle just as she said "I, ah...I was hoping we could talk, more. Now that I'm here, though, I don't even really know where to start." Luke broke out into a smile of his own. He chuckled, too, before answering "Now you know how I felt."

She smiled wider, briefly glancing into his eyes before looking off at nothing in particular, once more. Her hands fidgeted in her lap for a moment, fingernails idly pressing underneath one another. She barely raised an eyebrow, then asked "...So, you really are a paladin, right? That wasn't an act?" Luke raised his eyebrows and briefly closed his eyes as he offered a single nod. "I am," he confirmed. "That wasn't a lie." She smiled more, met his eyes, and joked "It must've been easy to train into it, knowing what you know. Considering you've been to Heaven, it must've been a snap. An angel probably has a real easy time believing."

Luke chuckled, again. Smiling brightly, his voice was a little low as he explained. "Well, the physical training was still tough. And, to be fair, I don't think I technically count as an angel, right now. I've been to Heaven, sure, but I was fully reincarnated in a mortal form. That was my choice, however. I could've simply appeared to you, say, twenty years ago, but I knew that if an angel just dropped down out of the sky right in front of you, you wouldn't have reacted very well." She hummed a chuckle, smiled from ear to ear, and admitted "You're probably right. I probably would've shot after you like a bat out of Hell, claws-first."

He gently arched an eyebrow, eyes off at nothing in particular, lingering in her general direction. "I knew a complete stranger, some random peasant, coming up to you and knowing about you what I do would've only made you suspicious. Too suspicious to listen, really. But, a paladin...A paladin that wanted to talk, that cared enough to take the time to find out about you, would at least have a chance of making you pause. The trouble was, you'd see through someone masquerading as a paladin, so I needed to go all the way." His eyes dropped, a little. "I made the choice to be fully and properly reincarnated on the mortal realm. I was born again, raised by two new parents. It was...Surreal. Definitely a strange experience, especially since my mind didn't really revert to a child's. I was largely still myself, and knew what I had to do. I knew you were out there...I just needed to wait and grow up before becoming a paladin."

Erika looked just a hint perplexed. A little quietly, she earnestly asked "You didn't think about just walking away? I mean, you had a new life. Sure, it would've been weird, but you could've done whatever you wanted. You could've forgotten about me and done anything." He smiled wide, again. His eyes flicked to her's as he confidently asserted "Never. The whole reason I was there was you. I wasn't going to give up on you. Besides...God was watching. Abandoning my duty would've made Him none too happy. He knew I was the right choice for you." Erika drew in a bit of a breath, quietly sighing it back out through her nose. She glanced down at his chest before meeting his eyes again, asking "So...When do you have to go back? You said you can't until the job's done, right?"

Luke raised his eyebrows. Eyes at peace, he passively explained "I can't go back until either I'm dead, I've purified you, or you essentially close yourself off from me. At that point, nothing I could do would help. We haven't reached that point. We'd both know it, if we had. The closest we got was when we fought each other." One corner of her mouth started to shift up. Almost under her breath, she playfully muttered "...I've fucked a lot of people in my time, but I never thought I'd get to fuck an angel..." Luke smiled from ear to ear, a hint of pink hitting his cheeks as he looked off into the distance. Of course she'd jump to the sex angle. "Laugh it up, Erika," he slowly drawled, making her grin. He slowly blinked, raised his eyebrows, and insisted "Again, I'm not really an angel, right now. I'm flesh and blood, like any other mortal. My power comes from being a paladin, not from angelhood."

Erika grinned, arched an eyebrow, and brought a hand to her chest, openly bouncing one of her hefty breasts. "Hey, I'm flesh and blood right now, too," she pointed out. "Doesn't make me any less of a demon!" Luke lightly narrowed an eye at her banter, one corner of his smile rising higher than the other as he pointed out "Yeah, well, you have the wings, and I don't. I'm mortal right now, Erika. I have a connection to Heaven and God that most don't, sure, but..." She smiled high, dropping her hand back to her lap as she teased "Okay, alright. So, you aren't an angel, right now. Let's see, uh...What else did I want to ask about..."

Her expression turned a bit consternated as she looked off to the side, near the blankets under them. Her brow knitting, her lips pursed a little, her eyes easing half-closed. She needed a moment, but then she went ahead and asked "...What was I like, back then? You'd know better than I would, at this point." He smiled. "A little different, but not much," he answered. "You're still the person I remember, inside. You could've done worse after nearly a century of being an incubus. You're a little meaner in your teasing sometimes, and you're a little more persistent about it. You're a lot more, uh...Promiscuous."

She grinned wide enough to show off her fangs, arching an eyebrow. Pink momentarily returned to his cheeks as he added "I mean, you weren't exactly a prude before, but now you're...Well, a lot more comfortable with sex, obviously. It's not so easy to make you blush, anymore." Her grin relaxed to a big, smug smile. Lips barely shifting, her half-closed eyes never left his as she matter-of-factly mumbled "Well, that does tend to happen after a literal lifetime of nothing but constant sex." He briefly raised his eyebrows, barely gesturing a hand off to the side, wordlessly conceding to her point.

He looked off into the distance as he thought. "You're...Less optimistic than you used to be. I guess some of the magic of life went away after...Well, you know. But, you still make me laugh. You're still cocky and hardheaded, sometimes. You still have that zest to you. You still know right from wrong, and you'll do what you think is right, even if it hurts you. You were always a good person, inside. I was happy to see that that hadn't changed. It would've been so easy to lose that." Her smile turned self-conscious as her eyes dropped. Hearing someone appraise her would've been one thing, but positive appraisal from him made her feel vulnerable. It certainly didn't help that he was speaking on a time she could hardly even remember.

Her expression calmed before she murmured "...And, you were sent to try and redeem me. You, of all people. Was it just your choice, or did God come to you, about it?" A little quietly, he answered "He did. Like I said, I was the obvious choice. I could've refused, of course, but...I had to try, and that was for the best. Somebody else just wouldn't have cared like I cared. I was the obvious choice, for you. I was glad for the opportunity." He smiled a little more, adding "It let me see you, again." She smiled more and, with some amusement, remarked "Doesn't count for much when I look so different, though, does it?" He hummed a chuckle. "You're still the same person I remember," he passively refuted.

She smiled wider, a hint of a glimmer crossing her eyes, quickly blinked away. For some reason, that was comforting to hear. She went silent for a few seconds as she found her way to her next question. She didn't ask about her family, or the people in their hometown. Hearing that they were sorry and that they missed her had been painful enough the first time around, she didn't need to have that elaborated upon. Instead, she cut to the meat of the dilemma. "So...About God. You said this all made more sense. Think you could explain a little more?" Furrowing her brow, she added "How could He just keep me from Heaven when He knew I deserved it? Why would they be more valuable than me, especially to that degree?"

Luke silently exhaled through his nose. "It's a little hard to explain, and I wouldn't at all blame you for not believing it," he muttered. Raising an eyebrow, he drew in a breath, putting more of his weight to one elbow, leaning a little closer towards her. "What made sense to me," he explained, "was that it sounds to me like God was simply trying to make everyone happy, and He had the foresight to know He wasn't doing anything ruinous. Like I've said, Erika, He loves you. He loves each and every one of us. He kept you from Heaven because it'd make the people in Canders happy, and He knew that, even when you went to Hell, you would still only be a lost soul. In the end, they would realize how they had sinned, and you could still be saved."

His voice went more melancholic, as did his expression. "Then," he mumbled, "everyone knew exactly what they had done. They were as surprised to hear of their veto power as you were, no doubt. They regret what they did." Erika dropped her chin a little, brow furrowing deeper as she stared down at her lap. The glimmer in her eyes intensified. Luke's eyes flickered between her lap and her face as he quietly murmured "...God knew He could send an angel to you and they'd have a chance of redeeming you. He must've known I'd want to try. If He didn't love us, He wouldn't have tried to save you after what He did. He's trying to heal the wounds He made...Your's, and mine."

"...You're making him sound pretty devious, you know," she quietly remarked. Like her, he dropped his chin, looking downwards. "I know," he readily admitted. His brow subtly furrowing, he calmly said "Even if God knew that you wouldn't be lost in time for me to reach you, the fact still remains that He allowed you to go to the netherworld, thereby allowing you to, at least for a time, spread Hell's influence. He wanted to make everyone happy, but at the cost of nearly a century of regret, for you." He turned his head a little, eyes shifting towards her's. He lightly raised his eyebrows, murmuring "All I can do is trust His judgement. Even if it doesn't make complete sense to me, He has to know the best course of action...And He trusted me to have the best chance."

He started to smile as her eyes moved up to his. Calmly, he asserted "I know that there's easily two different ways to look at all this, and I don't blame you for one second for taking a critical eye, even a skeptical one. But there's also my way: this isn't a paltry gesture, this is a grand one. He's put time and thought into trying to bring you back where you should've gone, all along. He gave us a chance to see each other again, even if you didn't remember those days. He could've done nothing. Instead, He's working to make things right. Doesn't that tell you he loves you?" Erika's expression didn't shift, much. She blinked, briefly looked to the side, then dropped her gaze, again. "...Working hard to save me from the problem He created," she quietly pointed out.

Luke silently exhaled through his nose. "I know," he quietly conceded. The admission rose her eyes back up. "I'm not going to pretend that this all makes sense to me," he added, "just that His love for us does, and that He's trying to offer you a way back." He lightly raised his eyebrows. In a murmur, he said "Heaven has been open to you for a long time, Erika...It's just a question of whether you even want it, or not. Whether you can believe you deserve it...Whether you think God deserves your forgiveness."

Her expression began to turn weary. Eyes heavy lidded, she looked away for a moment, then glanced back in his general direction. "I'll think about it," she noncommitally, and somewhat dismissively, answered. Before he could try and reopen the topic, her eyes went alert as she changed the subject. One corner of her mouth flickering upwards, she murmured "So...You blame yourself for helping me go to the netherworld? You really shouldn't. Sounds to me like you did everything you could to make my time there happier."

Luke briefly smiled, more of a wince than anything else. He glanced away from her eyes at the reminder, but then he was looking back, audibly trying to keep his tone's pace as he mumbled "Erika, everything was laid out for me once I passed on. I always knew during life that I was being a coward to shield myself, and I told myself that it was probably for the best if I didn't end up drawing further attention to you. You tried to reassure me, to tell me I was doing the right thing, that you didn't want me to go through what you were going through...But, I knew better. Still, I kept my mouth shut and made you the sole focus of everyone's attention"

For a moment, his brow furrowed rather deep, and a hint of agitation quickened his words. "If I had just stepped up and stood with you, everyone would've seen that you weren't alone, that you weren't some freak for them to throw stones at. They wouldn't have had just the one person to pour their hate into, they would've had to divide it between two, and you might not have gone to Hell, at all. I'm a big part of the reason why..." He caught his words, trailing off, looking off to the side. She smiled a little, more reassuringly than he would've expected. She reached over, held his knee, and did her best to console him, quietly saying "Listen, you did the only thing that made sense. What if you're wrong? What if we had both gone to the netherworld, instead?"

"We wouldn't have," he refuted, a little brusquely. She raised her eyebrows high, flatly remarking "Hey, I don't blame you for not wanting a village of assholes to give you crap, your whole life. At least one of us went to Heaven. I don't blame you for what happened to me, okay? And even if I did, you've done more than your fair share to try and save me. You've put up with a lot of crap from me, hell, you lived a whole new life to try and reach me. That's some dedication." He met her eyes again, looking uncertain. One corner of her mouth rose high in a big, warm smirk. "If it makes you feel any better," she playfully cooed, "I can't even remember those days, anyway."

He broke out into a smile and gave a huff of a chuckle. "It doesn't," he remarked, shrugging with his eyebrows as he let his eyes drift off to the side. Her smirk widened for a moment, then faltered. A more serious expression coming to her, she moved her hand, bringing it over one of his. "Seriously," she insisted, voice dropping quieter. Watching his eyes, she earnestly murmured "Don't blame yourself. I don't blame you. You did the only thing that made sense, at least at the time. You couldn't have known. Nobody knew how things would turn out. You're blaming yourself for doing what any normal person would do, and getting angry at yourself for not doing something only a crazy person would do. I don't blame you, okay?..."

He kept smiling, and after a moment, he looked her in the eyes and remarked "You said the same kinds of things, back then." She gave a little shrug, smirking once again as she remarked back "Well, maybe I haven't changed too much since then, huh?" She smiled wider as she slipped her hand off of his, easing her legs underneath herself until she could sit up on her knees. She gave a deep sigh as she leaned into him, practically dropping herself against him as she looped her arms around his neck. He readily reached around her waist and let her body weight guide him down until he was lying over his back, the petite incubus latched on tight in a lover's embrace.

She waited a couple seconds, cozying up close against his body before, eyes barely open, she lightly said "Don't blame yourself" by his ear. "You've done more than enough. I love you." He slowly drew in a breath then just as slowly exhaled, as if he were trying to internalize what she was saying. He nuzzled his face into the side of her neck, failing to answer her with words for nearly a minute. As she settled a leg between his and slowly coiled her tail around one of his forearms, he finally got around to murmuring back "...I love you, too. I always have." She smiled, eyelashes glistening as she touched her temple to the side of his head.

There wasn't much time left in the night before they were both calling it a day, and what little time there was passed by like a thin cloud before a thick wind. Erika ventured to ask a couple more questions about her mortal life, but that was all. It primarily seemed to be idle curiosity to her, not at all the crushing, heart-wrenching ache to reconnect with a past life that one might've expected. It made sense, to Luke. After nearly a century, her life as a demoness far outweighed her mortal existence. By comparison, her life as Eric was little more than a brief fever dream. Even her incubus body would be more familiar and comfortable for her than her original body. It was as she had said upon first meeting him: that boy didn't really exist, anymore. Erika lived on, seducer of naughty little girls with forbidden desires.

They fell asleep in each other's arms, after that most exhausting of days. When they awoke some time the following afternoon, things were happily, and perhaps surprisingly, quite comfortable between them. They didn't really speak on the previous night, leaving those words to lie. Hopefully, Erika trusted, they both had things to contemplate, in the aftermath. At first, their routine was sleepy. She kissed him good morning, then kissed her way down his body. When she went to take a morning bath, he opted instead to stay behind and begin cooking up some breakfast...And therein bought themselves both a fortunate grace period.

The weather was nice, that afternoon. Clear skies, temperate breeze. As Luke knelt by the freshly ignited bonfire, preparing some of the new food supplies Erika had rightly suspected he couldn't have possibly had the time to obtain, he heard heavy footfalls approaching the camp, and from a direction in the complete opposite side of the forest to the creek, as well. Instantly, he was put on his guard, but not enough that he might've been rude to any wanderer who had been hiking through the forest and thought to say hello.

Tucking away the leftover produce he had been slicing up, he wiped off his hands with some quick claps, stood up, and turned to face the newcomer, idly walking over to peer at them from past his tent. Could've just as easily been some kind of ruffian as it could've been a traveller from one of the nearby cities and villages, but Luke felt fairly confident that he could talk them down from violence, if that were the case. What he saw immediately gave him pause. A dozen things ran through his head, in those few initial seconds. Of all the things he had anticipated happening, this one had all but slipped his mind. Shortsighted foolishness.

He should've anticipated that somebody would eventually check in on him, but he hadn't expected his time with Erika to run on for so long. Perhaps it had been optimistic of him, but some part of him had hoped that he would've been able to purify Erika inside a week. Once he had met her again, however, all consideration for the outside world, for his prior attachments, just seemed to vanish. She had always had a way of capturing his attentions, and being a demon had done nothing to change that. His tie to the earthly church had begun to seem less and less important compared to his obligation to Heaven and his focus on Erika, but now, the past was coming to remind him of where he had planted his stake.

Marching through the forest towards his campsite was another paladin, the man's gleaming steel armour instantly recognizable, even at a distance. Luke's blood couldn't have run much colder even if he were a reptile in the snow. His eyes gave a quick flick to the side, but he controlled his body language, prevented himself from looking anxious. Thank God Erika weren't in the camp, at that moment in time. Still, who knew when she'd be back from her bath, and who knew how long it might take this paladin to move on. Luke, keenly aware of the multiple troublesome issues he'd be presenting, put on his best smile.

Luke could tell, just at a glance, that this man was practically a walking relic. He bore the scars of time on his face and in his movements, and for his long struggle against the pervasive agents of the netherworld, he should've been honoured. All the same...Luke could see the cold way the man handled himself, the way his measured footfalls struck the earth hard so that demons might hear him and tremble. He couldn't have been any different from the rest of the paladin order, no, he must've been similar precisely due to his age and authority. His heart was closed, hard. Battling Hell had a way of making even the most merciful man lose his compassion.

The other paladin was a little shorter than Luke, but he was still easily over six feet tall and would've dwarfed Erika just as well, likely standing a full head taller than the absent incubus. The man must've been somewhere in his mid to late forties, and the air of cold authority he wore about himself like a shroud told Luke the man could've been a paladin all his adult life. His hair was still a deep, cocoa brown, filled with visible grays under the light with age, and although it was shoulder-length, the man had swept it back tight, keeping it tucked behind his ears. He bore a graying goatee that, while thick, couldn't hide the flat, firm, impatient line his lips were set in.

The man's features, while at one time handsome, bore a harsh badge of his time fighting the demons that frequented the mortal world. Brutal scarring riddled the right side of his face in long, thick rows, breaking his eyebrow into three uneven sections. The scar tissue, paler than the rest of his skin, surrounded an empty eye socket which the paladin openly bared, then crossed the side of his head and went across his ear, cutting across the ridges. A second pair of rivulets ran down his cheek, suggesting that whichever tenacious demon had disfigured the man's face had gotten in at least a second clean strike before the assault had ended.

The full set of platemail armour he wore was bulky and afforded some ostentation, unlike Luke's own. Similar to Luke's, the other paladin's armour was coloured a clean, sterile light gray, which shone to a near-white under the sunlight, even with the polish wearing thin. Intricate embossment ran around the edges of each piece, writing out verses that likely denounced those who turned against God. The other paladin bore no helmet, but his gorget was thick enough that attacks to the man's neck and throat were all but impossible unless somehow performed from an elevated position. His spaulders were thick, and hanging from them down the man's chest and back was a slightly tattered, worn tabard.

Although the once-pristine white cloth had gone gray and even brown in sections with dust, mud, and possibly even blood, it still clearly depicted the emblem of the paladin's Blessed Order, proudly displaying a black sword plunging downwards across a large, golden sun. Although the man bore no shield with him, something he likely didn't very much need considering the thickness of his full-body platemail, he still bore his consecrated weapon, sanctified by the church in a ceremony to call upon God's blessing against His enemies. Unlike Luke's longsword, this other paladin bore a thick, brutal mace upon his hip, hanging from an old leather loop sticking out from the side of his flowing cloth fauld.

Luke's eyes were immediately drawn to the weapon. It had been made of an almost snowy metal, and still looked as clean as the day it had been forged. The grip was clearly sturdy, and the length of it afforded good reach. The flanges were thick, bladed, assuring that every blow would not only pulverize bone but tear open the meat, as well. At the end of the mace's head, a sharp spike stuck outwards for several inches from between the flanges, providing the paladin with thrusting punctures, if he so required it in combat. Likely, he never would - the weapon was meant for demons, not armoured humans, and the sheer force the weapon no doubt delivered in strong enough hands could've pained even the hardiest of the infernal, to say nothing of the divine might that would suffuse it when wielded.

The other paladin briefly held up his hand in a salute. His brow was already furrowing, however, as his one eye dropped across Luke's body, quickly firing back up to the younger man's eyes. "Hail, brother paladin," he offered. Luke's initial impression of the man didn't improve upon hearing him. His voice was calm, deep, but there was a callousness to it, a disconnected coldness, as if he had long ago lost his taste for social interaction, even with his brothers-in-arms. Luke saluted back without hesitation, taking on a professional decorum as he greeted back "Hail, brother. What brings you my way? Have you come to check on my progress?"

The other paladin arched an eyebrow, head slightly turning to the side as he eyed Luke's standard, erected high above the camp with the Blessed Order's banner in full display. He gave it a quick gesture as he wearily remarked "Not quite, brother. I wouldn't have stopped by your campsite at all, had I not spotted your standard. But, perhaps another paladin could aid me in my hunt, even one of...I would imagine little rank. It would be an honour to assist me." Luke held his hands together behind himself as he politely answered "I would be honoured to, sir, but unfortunately, I'll have to decline. I'm presently engaged in a hunt of my own, and it hasn't yet been concluded. Still, perhaps introductions are in order. My name is Luke. Perhaps I can assist you afterwards?"

At hearing the refusal to aid him, the other paladin's brow subtly twitched downwards. His eye shifted off to the side, briefly scanning the forestry behind Luke as he introduced himself, flatly uttering "Elder Paladin Anderson." Luke resisted the urge to swallow as the other man casually strode deeper into his campsite, brow furrowing deeper as he eyed Luke's trappings. As politely as he could, he turned to continue facing the veteran officer, commenting "Anderson...Yes, I believe I've heard that name, before. Your reputation precedes you, sir." Anderson idly rested a hand over the head of his mace, bluntly answering back "I can't say the same for you, I'm afraid. What did you say your name was, again?"

"Luke," he repeated, giving in to the urge to swallow, immediately after. His gut started to go tense. He didn't like where this was going. Erika could've been back at any minute, and Anderson didn't seem to be in any huge rush to move along with his hunt. "Luke," Anderson repeated back, giving a slow couple nods. His brow furrowed deeper as he spent a moment eyeing the two chairs at the bonfire, side-by-side. His gaze turned to the shrine by the tent, then the training dummy standing nearby, still untouched by any form of weapons training. A little slowly, Anderson observed "...Hardly the usual ascetic supplies one might expect of a young paladin. Which church did you say you were from, again? Are you a local recruit, boy?"

Luke nodded, readily answering "Yes, sir. I was trained at Saint Ambrose, about twenty miles west of here." "Saint Ambrose," Anderson repeated. He visibly stuck his tongue in front of his lower teeth, making his mouth bulge as he dug at some detritus caught against his incisor. Turning to face Luke, he coolly remarked "That'd make you one of Father Lloyd's boys, wouldn't it?" Again, Luke nodded. "Yes sir," he answered. "Father Lloyd oversaw my spiritual and martial training, alongside the rest of the class." Anderson gave a quick, subtle nod, quietly smacking his chops. An agitated hint rising in his tone, he briefly narrowed his eye as he asked "Well then, would you mind telling me, Luke, what it is, precisely, that you're doing out of your armour, past noon, during a hunt?"

Luke did his best to answer calmly. His sense of unease made the answer come out quick without any telltale stammering, but it might have strained his tone as he replied "My armour's been damaged, sir. I engaged a demon, late last night, and it tore through my platemail. I was about to depart, actually, and see about having it repaired when you arrived." "Where is it," Anderson flatly demanded, eye unblinkingly locked on Luke's. Luke readily gestured off to the side, pointing Anderson to the far side of the tent. As the man paced over and spotted the pile of metal pieces on the ground, Luke explained further, stating "I don't want to face my quarry with openings in my armour. She's a crafty one. If I give her a window, she'll take full advantage of it."

Anderson paced back over, eyes subtly narrowing at Luke. A twitch in his cheekbone preceded a frown. Tersely, he remarked "That? That's discouraging you from your hunt?...The damage is petty, but I suppose I can't exactly fault you for being intimidated. Judging by your age, this must still be one of your first hunts. Hopefully, you don't shame yourself when you actually face your quarry." Luke accepted the denigration with a simple nod. Anderson's brow sank, again, as he turned his head, once more eyeing the two chairs placed by the bonfire. Luke did his best to come up with a story, but the dreaded question never came.

Instead, Anderson asked "You said you fought a demon, late last night. I'm assuming that they weren't your true quarry? What did the demon look like?" He looked back over at Luke as he explained further, stating "I'm presently trailing my own quarry, and I'm no more than half a day behind him, likely even less. His name is Samael, otherwise known as the Deadspeaker. Are you familiar with him?" Luke earnestly shook his head. He was familiar with many names from the netherworld, but Samael was one that simply didn't ring a bell. Anderson briefly gestured off to the side with a hand, dismissively answering "Of course you aren't."

Arching an eyebrow, he said "Samael is a beast of a demon. If you had seen him, you'd know it. He has a form similar to an upright reptile, but his body's flesh is more akin to stone than anything else." Luke's eyes slowly widened, a touch. Anderson continued, remarking "I first fought him a little under ten years ago. You would've been a child, at that time. He's surprisingly quick, for all that bulk...Quicker to consume humans whole, with that big mouth of his. I nearly exorcised him, but he managed to escape, then later flee back to Hell. I was able to stop him from glutting himself on the township he had been attacking, but that he escaped me still smarts to this day. No doubt he faced punishment in Hell for his cowardice, as well. You might say we have a grudge to settle, if a demon would even be worthy of such a thing."

Anderson's brow furrowed deeper as he added "Several days ago, I heard tell that Samael had returned to God's green Earth. I'm honour-bound to resume my hunt and eliminate him, and his trail brought me here...And you tell me you faced a demon, last night. Considering you're still in one piece, I'll assume it wasn't Samael. That, or Samael fled, again." Luke paused for a moment, trying to find the words. He raised his eyebrows high, then slowly, reluctantly, told the man the truth. Hopefully, it'd dissuade him from lingering any longer. "I, uh...I don't know how to tell you this, sir," he started off.

Anderson's eye subtly narrowed. Luke blinked, politely stating "I believe the demon I fought, last night, must've been Samael. I fought a great beast of a thing matching your description. That's what damaged my armour." Anderson's brow furrowed deeper as Luke added "I exorcised him, following his defeat." Anderson bluntly demanded "You fought Samael?...And survived? You mean to tell me you slew him, singlehandedly? You, a greenhorn on one of his first hunts?" Luke dropped his eyebrows, sincerely suggesting "I believe so. The demon I fought matches everything you've said about him, thus far. I could show you to where his remains are, if you'd like. They aren't terribly far, and I'm sure they haven't all dissipated, yet."

Anderson stared at Luke for a couple seconds before glancing off to the side. A hardness suddenly seemed to leave his eyes as he wearily remarked "No, that won't be necessary. I don't imagine you'd lie about that. The stain to your honour would be too great for such foolishness." The callousness returned to his eyes as he looked back into Luke's eyes, remarking "If Samael were still alive, I'd hear about it damn quick, and I'd personally oversee your excommunication. Does your answer remain the same?" Luke nodded, resolutely stating "Yes, sir. I'm positive I fought Samael. He won't be returning to the mortal realm any time soon, I performed the rites."

Anderson offered a quiet "Hmph" before pacing a few steps off to the side, idly looking about Luke's campsite a little more. After a moment, he slowly turned back to face Luke, somewhat tiredly remarking "...Well, then. That settles that, then. I won't be satisfied until I kill him, myself, but you've settled my hunt for me, at least. You'll have to tell me, some time, how, exactly, you managed it, but that time isn't now. One of us still pursues a demon." Arching an eyebrow, he nodded his chin up at Luke. Resolutely, perhaps even a bit amicably, he offered "As you took care of my hunt for me, it seems paltry repayment to assist you in your's. Tell me, boy, what do you know of your quarry? How long has your hunt gone for?"

Luke's blood ran cold, all over again. The tense feeling in his stomach doubled, then tripled. It took effort to keep his breathing steady, but the strain might've made perspiration shine across his forehead. Lord knew sweat was running down his back, at that point. He had wanted to be rid of Anderson, not enlist the damn man's help! Even if Anderson weren't renowned for his feats against demons, the fact remained that he was yet another paladin, heartless and unforgiving, same as all the others. He would never be able to understand Luke's intentions with Erika - if he saw her, he'd simply attack in an instant, and although Erika had the experience to handle someone like Anderson, this was a situation Luke did not want to see escalate.

For every paladin Erika had killed or corrupted out of self-defence, Anderson had proactively hunted and slain two demons. Neither would come out of that fight looking pretty. Luke offered a flattered smile, but modestly answered "Please, sir, you do me a great honour. As much as I appreciate the offer, I'm...Afraid I'll have to decline." Anderson subtly raised an eyebrow. Luke's expression turned more resolute as he explained, swiftly stating "This isn't just one of my first hunts, sir. This is my first hunt. I need to do this by myself, on my own merit and with my own skills. Although it wouldn't lessen me to accept your aid, it wouldn't give me the trial I need to truly understand the struggle against Hell, either. I have to do this alone."

Anderson's eye shifted to the side for a split-second before he was meeting Luke's eyes, again. After a moment, he gave a little nod, then begrudgingly offered "...Well said, brother Luke. Hm. Well, then. If you're determined to gain some honour, then I shouldn't hinder you. Perhaps there's a kernel of wisdom in you, after all." Raising an eyebrow high, he openly gave Luke a look up and down, somewhat wearily remarking "Just...Put your damn armour on, alright? You shame us all by waltzing about in nothing but plain clothes. If your demon finds you, rather than the other way around, you'll be utterly defenceless."

"Yes, of course, you're right," Luke readily agreed. So far, so good. It seemed like Anderson was ready to leave, thank God. The older man shrugged with his eyebrows, gave one more sweeping glance around the camp, then drew in a breath. Sighing the words out, he said "Well, I suppose I don't have much reason to linger, then. I should be off." He offered Luke another salute, and Luke saluted without hesitation. Anderson turned and strode off for about a dozen paces, but before Luke could breath a silent sigh of relief, the man was slowing to a stop. He turned on a heel, took a few paces back towards Luke, and as if it had simply been an afterthought, he remarked "Hold a moment. Before I go, might you have a message you'd like passed on to the church? News on your progress, perhaps, or a request for supplies?"

With a bored shift of his lips, Anderson pointed out "I'll likely be stopping by Saint Ambrose on my way. It'd be no trouble." Arching an eyebrow, he added "How long did you say your hunt had run on for, again?" Luke let his mouth hang slightly ajar as he tried to find the words, playing it off with a subtle expression of recollection as he answered "Ah, no, nothing springs to mind. I'm close to tracking the demon down, so I'll be able to return on my own, soon. No need." Anderson gave a nod, but his brow knit. Refusing to let the question go avoided, he again, more bluntly, asked "How long has your hunt run for, boy?"

Again, Luke did his best to answer casually, knowing full well he couldn't tell the man the truth. Confidently, he answered "Uh, just a few days. I only came into the area yesterday evening, sir. It hasn't been long." Luke didn't realize his folly until Anderson began to glare. The veteran paladin's brow sinking deep, he took several confrontational steps closer towards Luke, raising his voice just a hint as he demanded "You mean to tell me that you walked twenty miles with all of this gear in just a few days? What are you, a human pack mule? I don't see any carriages or horse droppings around. How did you plan on bringing all these supplies back?"

Luke slipped up and let out a stammer. Anderson narrowed his eye and gave his head a shift to the side. His voice dropping to an unnerving mutter, he demanded "Why don't you tell me how long it's really been, boy?" Luke's breathing finally began to escalate. Unlike Erika, he could never say he acted well under pressure, not when he didn't have the truth on his side. He knew that if he told Anderson the truth, that he had been sitting in the forest for going on two weeks now, the man would come squarely to one of two incontrovertible conclusions: whatever his quarry was, Luke had either been corrupted by it, or was actively avoiding it out of cowardice. No paladin, not even a rookie, took two weeks to hunt a single demon and ultimately have nothing to show for it.

There was a tense moment of silence. Anderson kept staring at Luke, and Luke kept searching his mind for an answer, doing his best not to let his body give little unconscious fidgets. The longer the silence stewed, the harder it became to find his voice and lie, knowing full well nothing he could've said would've placated the veteran. A soft shuffling noise broke the silence of the forest, somewhere behind Luke.

Oh, no.

Luke's eyes widened, a hint. Understanding dawned in Anderson's eye as he read the reaction. He took a quick step to the side, peering past Luke's shoulder. Luke's shoulders twisted as he looked back, past his side. There stood Erika, not quite yet inside the campsite, still standing amidst the trees. Hair still wet and matted down, she had already pulled back on her black latex succubus uniform, making her glaringly visible against the daytime backdrop. With one hand to a tree, she looked like she had only just then returned, and didn't yet have any clue what had been happening. Still, she had probably been about to cautiously duck behind a tree and safely eavesdrop when her foot had rustled across the grass, stirring dead leaves.

Her expression instantly went from careful and confused to surprised as the noise announced her presence to the two paladins. The instant Anderson saw Erika, his eye widened in a blaze of righteous fury, his teeth clenching and baring. Hand going for his mace in the blink of an eye, he loudly blurted out "Demon!!"

Luke was already raising his hands to try and stop Anderson, but as soon as his head turned back around to face him, a metal fist was cracking into his jaw, snapping the tall man's head to the side with staggering force. Erika quietly gasped, her eyes widening as Luke stumbled backwards, collapsing to his hands and knees like a felled tree. Erika watched blood and teeth fragments spill from Luke's lips as he looked up at her. Eyes desperate, he begged "Erika, run!"

Anderson growled with annoyance as he punted up into Luke's stomach, making the man loudly wheeze and turn over, falling to his back. This time, Erika didn't gasp, but her lower lip gave a quick quiver before her eyes stung. Anderson barely acknowledged Luke at that point, pointing his mace down towards his face before hastily uttering "I'll deal with you later, traitor." He turned his gaze back towards Erika, marching towards her with a fearless speed, mace held low by his side. She furrowed her brow right back at him in an utterly hateful glare, eyes beginning to glow like hot coals. Sucker punch Luke and get away with it? Not on her watch.

If he wanted a hunt, he could have one. Curling her lip up, she was already turning to run, wings spreading wide as she loudly demanded "Come and get me, paladin!"

~~End of Ch. 9~~

Chapter 10: Angels of Mercy

Chapter Text

Incubus Erika

Part III ‑ "Wingless"

By: Jesse Racine AKA Samson

Original Date Written: March 26, 2017

Anderson's eyes widened as he broke out into a frenzied sprint. Erika growled louder and louder with exertion as she ran forward for several steps, wings beating hard until she finally lifted off. Anderson barked with annoyance as he swept out his free hand, narrowly missing a quick snatch at the tip of her tail. The veteran paladin could only breathe hard and glare as Erika whipped up higher into the air, spun around to face him, and righted herself, keeping herself aloft with hard beats of her smooth, black wings. She glared right back at him, eyes wide and full of fire, lips parted a crack to expose teeth put on edge.

For a moment, just one, neither one did anything but stare at their enemy, visibly fuming: her for the way he had struck Luke, he for his lack of wings successfully keeping her out of arm's reach. After that solitary moment of heavy breathing, Erika finally discovered her voice, and once she began speaking, she found it difficult to stop. She knew there was absolutely no real point to communicating with this man, but some strange part of her still felt inclined to chew him out rather than instantly swoop for his neck. Maybe it was Luke's blasted influence getting to her, or maybe she just wanted to verbally ream the man out for his cowardice. She always was a bit of a chatterbox during a fight, but this wasn't about poking fun. This bore more gravity, to the demon.

Throwing her arms out by her sides, she furrowed her brow and angrily snapped "You call yourself a holy man? You sucker punched Luke, and he didn't even have his sword! How the hell was he going to stop you, you fucking coward?" Anderson didn't respond, eyes briefly shifting off to the sky behind her. He paced off to the side for several steps, yet never took his eyes off of her for long. Clearly, he was trying to formulate some kind of strategy to draw her back to earth, but unless he planned on coaxing God, Himself, to swat her out of the sky, Erika didn't imagine he'd have much to work with, and if he even so much as closed his eyes for a moment too long to begin praying, she'd be ready to gut him.

Her tone started to take on a decidedly mocking tone. One corner of her mouth began rising high as she held her hips, pressing her legs close together as she hovered in place, striking a sassy pose. Tail quickly waving back and forth behind her, she called out "What a big man, punching another paladin when he can't even see it coming. And what was Luke's crime, then? Talking to me? Trying to save me, rather than exorcise me back to Hell? You're just like all the others: a sad, bitter little bible-thumper. If you weren't such an ugly bastard, I might corrupt you for a laugh, just to see you swallow your pride...Among other things." Anderson furrowed his brow hard, deep voice uttering a single, simple rebuff: "The time for words has passed, succubus. Come down before I force you to the earth."

Erika heaved a great, moaning sigh. Her face instantly went defeated and weary, while her arms dropped by her sides so loosely that her shoulders slumped. Trying not to roll her eyes, she glanced skyward as she groaned "Ugh, you too? Again with the succubus shit? Listen, I get it, it's a compliment, but don't pretend you can't see me fill out this thong!" Erika never noticed the way Anderson's lip subtly curled up, then shift to the corner of his mouth in a tiny smirk. Her moment of talkativeness getting the best of her, she threw her hands up by her shoulders, shrugged, and started to smile more than a little smugly, pushing her taunting further in her misguided sense of airborne invulnerability.

"I mean, yeah, I know I'm sexy as all hell from head to toe, I've got T n' A like a goddess," she remarked with a tone of mock modesty, "but this big ol' stocking stuffer is supposed to be for girls, so what would that make me? Say it with me, now!" Erika widened her eyes, smiled from ear to ear, and slowly enunciated "You know the word, come on! That makes me an in! Cu! Buh-!"

Anderson barely chuckled, a light finally beginning to emit from the flanges of his mace as he shifted it up by his side, calling down the might. Erika's pupils sharpened mid-word.

Boom!

She screamed down through the sky the instant the thunder filled the air, dropping like a bird of prey. The heat of the lightning bolt scorched the air behind her right wing, but no pain crippled her limb, thankfully enough. She was moving too fast to see if Anderson were surprised at her dodge, and frankly, she didn't care. He thought he had been leading her into a trap by allowing her to taunt him, and the truth of it was, she had come close to letting herself get distracted - close enough that dodging the lightning had had an element of luck to it. She was prideful, and sometimes, it cost her.

However, that had been the one opportunity Anderson would have to surprise her, and with his failure, he'd now have to swallow her taunts. If it got him angry, if it got him stupid, then the advantage was her's. She swept down close enough to him that he could swing out with his mace, but Erika was already twisting her body to veer to the right, prompting his bludgeon to cut through the air between her wings. Claws extending mid-drop, she pulled around the paladin's rear at an exceedingly dangerous sharp angle, forcing her legs to fling out ahead of her as she pulled up well within a meter of his body. Behind him now, she grabbed one of his spaulders, forcing him to act as her anchor.

Baring her teeth, she moved with unnatural speed, attacking practically in the blink of an eye. She pulled her knees up in front of her chest and thrust her legs out, stabbing her bone heels into the rear of his breastplate, puncturing them straight through the metal and into the back of his waist like a pair of daggers. In one fell swoop, it could all be over. She raised her free hand up just enough to prime it for a thrust, aiming her claws for the back of his skull. One good, precise hit would be all she'd need. She knew that a puncture to the skull wasn't always necessarily fatal, but anything that struck the gray matter would still be debilitating, and she had five long blades at her fingertips, ready to send him to his maker.

The instant she struck, his hand was finding her's, gripped tight to his spaulder. He pulled, and not only did he yank her with such force that he pulled her whole body towards his right side, but he managed to snap off one of her infernal heels in the process, cracking the bone-like material until the sharp point just broke right off of her left foot and was left stuck in his flesh. Erika gave a harsh gasp - she didn't have the time to readjust her aim, and although her claws dragged across the back of Anderson's head and bit deep into his scalp, the bone of his skull was tough enough to stop her from killing him with such an imprecise hit.

Anderson growled as he pulled Erika past his side like she were as light as a rag doll, making her shout in agony when he slammed her down against the ground right in front of himself, writhing as the wind was torn from her lungs. Blood running through his messied hair, he grit his teeth as he smiled, cracking a disturbing smirk. Without hesitation, he raised his foot up over her and stomped down into her stomach, instantly sending a harsh recoil throughout her whole body. Erika couldn't fight the reaction. Her body tried to double over, but with his foot pressing her down, she had to fall back to the dirt and endure. For a moment, she felt like she might've retched, face twisting up as she deflated a second time, struggling hard to breathe.

She half expected him to twist her arm and snap it, but instead, he moved to finish her off. The fact that he didn't use his mace in the attempt spoke volumes, to Erika. On at least some small level, the bastard was enjoying himself. Anderson lifted his foot, but before she could squirm, he dropped down into her, crashing his knee against her stomach. The second brutal stomach attack, this time made worse by the full weight of his body, had Erika seeing stars. Again, her body gave a giant flinch. Something flushed the back of her throat, warm and acerbic. She wheezed a howl for mercy, but it was cut off when the man let go of her arm and thrust his hand into her throat, gripping her hard enough to choke out the noise.

With his gauntlet increasing the size of his fist, just the one hand was more than big enough to all but stop her from breathing, reducing her to noisy, pathetic draws. Anderson slammed his mace down into the dirt by her head hard enough that loose dirt struck her cheekbone, sticking the weapon in place within arm's reach. He tightened his grip on her throat as he cocked back the other hand into a fist, pressing her head tighter against the dirt. Erika's breathing stopped, entirely. The pulse in her head began to intensify as the oxygen was cut off. She struggled and snarled up at the paladin, furiously thrusting a hand up to meet his when he tried throwing out a nose-shattering punch.

Instead of connecting with her face, his fist met her claws, and to his shock, her deadly fingernails cut through his metal like a hot knife through butter, all but disabling the hand in one gruesome instant. Each claw cut into the webbing between each of his fingers, and with the force he had tried to punch her with, her claws sank so deep between each of his knuckles that she damn near sliced clear to his wrist bones. Anderson instantly shouted, long and hard. Eyes wide, he pulled his arm back, sliding his blood-running fist off of her long claws. She grinned as best she could, even as her vision began to lose focus.

She threw both hands down into the thigh he had over her stomach, and although she punctured through the metal, the pain wasn't agony enough to make him get off of her. Instead, he used the moment to wind up another punch, surprising her, in return. Her eyes barely widened as his fist, nearly pouring blood, came firing down. The broken metal over his knuckles crashed against her left eye, and she was damn near knocked out, in that one blow. With the hand on her throat locking her down, the impact was worsened twofold: not only was her head prevented from recoiling to the side, but with the back of her head straight to the dirt, her skull was forced to endure the full rattle of his blow.

The broken metal of his gauntlet cut into her skin, right by the outside point of her eyebrow. Instantly, her eye began to sting, swell, and the burn made her want to scream. Anderson pulled his elbow back and readied another blow right as Luke's silhouette came over the man from behind, jaw clenched tight, bloodied lips set in a firm line. Eyes hard with wrath, he threw out his hands. One grabbed Anderson around his elbow, trapping his arm back, preventing the punch from ever firing out. The other slapped into the side of Anderson's head, crushing it to the side, stretching out his neck by cramming the side of his face against his own gorget. Voice loud, tone firm, he forcibly ordered "Stop this. Now!"

As soon as Anderson turned his eyes to the side out of annoyance, Erika was shifting herself through the ether, trickling herself away from Anderson from the feet up to prevent him from immediately noticing her escape. Without saying a word, Anderson let go of Erika's throat and tried to reach for his mace, but Luke simply let go of the man's head and secured his second arm, as a result. Pulling both of Anderson's arms back, Luke cleared the way for Erika to hasten her escape without fear of repercussion. As her abdomen disappeared out from under Anderson's knee, the man furiously growled in his throat, eyes widening as his jaw clenched.

He got his knee up, put his foot to the ground, and stood up as fast as he could, throwing his head back at just the right moment. Luke pulled his head to the side and avoided the reverse headbutt to the nose, but the slashed section of Anderson's head still collided hard with Luke's cheekbone, knocking his head back. A split-second later, Anderson was bringing a foot up over Erika's vanishing face, but the stomp crushed through little more than thin air. He looked up, spotting the demon's snarling features as they reappeared over her faceless body, standing several meters ahead of him.

Erika furiously barked "Hold him still, I'm gonna fuckin' gut him!!" Luke hastily blurted out "No," but she was already rushing closer. Anderson gave another growl as he savagely stuck a leg out in front of himself, threw it back, and cracked the back of his sabaton into Luke's shin so hard that he could've fractured bone, thrusting the other paladin's leg out behind himself, in turn. With Luke's balance badly thrown off, Anderson tore back against Luke's arms as he twisted himself to the side, tilting Luke against his weakened leg, successfully launching the younger paladin past himself until Luke was forced to let go of him. Luke crashed down by Anderson's right side, giving a quick roll against the grass to catch himself, lessening the force of the impact.

Anderson's hand went for his mace again, and this time, nothing stopped him from pulling up his consecrated weapon. As soon as it was back in his hand, it emitted a sharp, piercing hum, a crisp white light beginning to emanate from the weapon's flanges, displaying the power of Heaven at his fingertips. Simply witnessing the astral manifestation was enough to freeze the blood inside Erika's veins, to put a tight chill through her muscles, but her focus nonetheless remained sharp. With one heel broken off, it was easier than usual to bend her knee and drop her head, bobbing when the veteran paladin swung at face-level with force enough to crush somebody's skull like a moldy pumpkin.

The divine energy radiating from his mace sang like arias as it cut through the air, wailing just above her hair in a surreal chorus. She rushed in that last step, thrusting her right-hand claws against his stomach. Although her claws punched through the platemail, they wound up catching on the chainmail underneath, tangling up in the metal links to the point where the tips of her talons couldn't pierce the leather acting as the final layer of protection before his skin. Anderson bared his teeth as he threw his elbow back around without hesitation, cracking the metal of his armour straight into Erika's cheekbone, throwing her head to the side as she stumbled away, nearly tripping over her broken heel.

Once her back was turned, Anderson was raising his mace, fully prepared to throw it down into the back of Erika's skull for a killing blow. Instead, Luke was scrambling up, not even fully rising to his feet before he was rushing forward, barrelling into Anderson so hard he almost threw the older man right off of his feet. With righteous fury, Anderson blurted out "Pervert!" as he caught his balance, retaliating to Luke's tackle with a quick, jerking backhand to the side of the face, forcing Luke's head to give a quick twist. Nearly simultaneously, Luke was moving in to try and disarm Anderson, but the veteran paladin responded not only with a chop to Luke's throat, but with a thrust from his mace, puncturing the tip straight into Luke's abdomen.

Luke tensed up just long enough for Anderson to wind up an even more savage backhand, swatting the bottom of his fist into Luke's already damaged jaw like a hammer, knocking the young paladin aside. When fresh blood spluttered from Luke's mouth as he stumbled away, Erika grit her teeth and made the choice to draw Anderson away. Luke was only trying to help, to keep her safe, but she couldn't keep watching him get hurt, and frankly, as optimistic as Luke tended to be, there was only one way this situation could possibly end. She likely knew even better than he did the single-mindedness a paladin could display, when faced with something unholy. Instead of saying something and risking making it obvious that she were leading Anderson away, she simply started to run off, trusting he would notice and believe she were abandoning her thrall.

She trusted correctly. As soon as Erika turned tail and ran, Anderson went after her, abandoning Luke just as easily as she ostensibly had. Erika didn't even smile, a cold, hard look filling her eyes as she breathed hard, running as elegantly as she could on just the one heel. "Why run if I'm a coward," Anderson loudly taunted, making Erika's teeth go on edge. She barrelled through the trees at a mile a minute, racing as quickly as she could, Anderson never far behind her. Eventually, she spotted a barricade blocking her path - evidently, the two of them were nearing the place she and Luke had battled Samael, because a great tree lay collapsed inside the forest, barring her path. If she turned to go around it, it might occupy her long enough for Anderson to ram into her backside.

Erika wasn't fazed. With a harsh grunt, she leapt up, wings stretching wide to catch the air. She glided for but a second before sharply pulling up, cascading straight over the thick sycamore. As soon as she was past it, she closed her wings, grinning as she hit the ground running. Anderson's mouth settled into a hard line as he kept running straight on, raising his free arm up to shield his eyes. A golden light briefly enveloped him as he crashed straight into the tree, causing an ear-splitting crack to rip throughout the forest. Anderson tore through the tree's trunk like a human battering ram, pushing the two halves several meters forwards as wood chips and chunks went blasting out, firing in Erika's direction like shrapnel.

Erika gave a great flinch, trying not to slow down as she turned her head. Anderson was still chasing her, dropping his arm from his face as he raced on, a great grin deforming his goatee. She furrowed her brow and snarled in impatience. She had hoped the tree would slow him down a little, give her an opportunity to prepare a sneak attack, but no such luck. She couldn't run for much longer before she was stumbling to a hasty stop, looking left and right. A smattering of thickly-leaved trees had grown too closely together not far ahead of her, creating an almost impassable cluster of tree trunks and roots in a row multiple meters wide. Erika would've veered to either side and continued fleeing, had Anderson not pressed for another taunt against the outclassed incubus.

When she stopped, he barely slowed down, quite content to slam straight into her and knock the petite demon off of her feet. Eyes wide, he authoritatively declared "You can't hide from me, demon! You made your choice - now, you pay the penalty!" Anderson couldn't have known ahead of time, and so Erika shouldn't have let his words sting, but this was far from a coherent moment. Making reference to choice and causality hit a sore spot for the demon, striking a low enough blow to change her mind about fleeing, even flying. Gritting her teeth, eyes glowing anew, she spun around to face him, blurting out "What "choice?!" I didn't choose to be this way, you self-righteous ass!"

Anderson didn't bother answering. Before he was even within arm's reach, he swung his mace. A short beam of white light erupted from the end of his weapon mid-swing, effectively doubling the range of his bludgeon, the divine energy searing through the air in a cleave aimed straight for Erika's face. Erika pulled out all the stops and moved as fast as she could muster up. With inhuman speed, she jumped back, kicking herself off from the dirt for a full meter-long jump. She went backwards far enough to avoid the consecrated light of Anderson's mace, plant her feet against the tangles of roots bulging from the base of the thick tree row behind herself, and kick back out towards Anderson in a high enough leap to latch on to him in a bear hug. With the man still recovering from his swing, his mace arm was pinned across his chest, keeping him thoroughly defenceless.

Erika mindlessly shouted in her throat as she grabbed Anderson wide enough to trap his arms against his body, then threw her face down beside his. She furiously began to bit at his scarred ear, and with her fangs fuelled with a mind to harm, she easily minced through his flesh, biting off hunk after hunk of his ear in a flash. Anderson roared in pain and struggled, twisting and writhing until he could move an arm well enough to grab her by the base of her tail. He yanked the poor thing so hard he could've torn it off, pulling Erika's pelvis away from him well enough to free up both his arms. When he pulled his mace arm back over from his far side, he pulled the flanges between Erika's stomach and his torso, instantly filling the air with the ear-piercing hiss of smouldering flesh.

Erika screamed, truly screamed. Anderson didn't need to throw Erika off, she flung herself free of her own accord. Tears uncontrollably flooded her eyes at the pain. She wanted to check the damage, but no sooner had she hit the ground was Anderson moving in on her, drawing in a sharp breath to brace himself as he pulled his mace up high. Blood soaked the side of his head from his demolished ear, but the pain still wasn't enough to distract him. Erika scrambled back in a hurry, raising an arm to try and shield her head. He brutally swung his mace down into her forearm, prompting the light from his mace to extend, again. When he struck Erika, not only was he striking twice the surface area than was normally possible, but the illumination flooding his weapon essentially doubled his strength.

Bone snapped. Erika's eyes practically bugged out. Barely a huff of pain escaped her before she was holding her breath. The mace, itself, physically struck her forearm, pulverizing both bones in a thick section. The light emitted from the end of the mace, meanwhile, struck her shoulder with the same level of force, breaking additional bones. On top of it all, both injuries were scalded by the baneful power of his weapon, scorching her skin until it bubbled with blisters. Anderson didn't hesitate to wind up a second strike, this time aiming for her face. Erika flung herself to the side in a roll, prompting Anderson's mace to strike down into the grass with enough force to break apart the dirt, causing handfuls of loose, dust-like dirt to erupt outwards.

Erika scrambled to rise to her feet. Anderson knelt over in a rush, grabbed a fistful of the loose dirt, and threw it over into Erika's eyes the moment she faced him, prompting her to try and shield her eyes, grunting in panic as she stumbled backwards. She threw her arm down and tried to keep her eyes open well enough to see him through the tears, baring her teeth as he rushed in closer. When he swung, she leaned back far, bending backwards like a contortionist until she were nearly bridging the ground, allowing his mace to harmlessly sweep past her chest. She pulled herself back upright with the same graceful fluidity of movement, the glow from her eyes brightening her face like hot coals as she struck.

She threw up a hand and slashed her claws across his mace arm, cutting through his armour until ribbons of shorn, bloody metal flew off. Anderson swung back around in the opposite direction, but Erika ducked, and when he tried to knee her in the face in response, she tilted her head forward and allowed her horns to catch the blow, relatively harmlessly absorbing the brunt of the force like a helmet. She stood back up and wove towards his left side, throwing up a hand in the process, running her claws across his mouth and nose in a flash of red. Fighting him was like fighting Luke, had he actually been of a mind to truly harm her. The two paladins had similar combat presences: tough, durable, slow, deadly blows, fast when they wanted to be, but never as fast as she was. Paladins always needed wearing down, but Erika was feeling far from patient, today.

Just by his left side, she growled higher and higher as she furiously plunged her claws into his stomach and lower back, managing a quick four strikes, two per side, before Anderson could react. To her surprise, he swung out with his free hand instead of his mace, lashing out faster than she could react. He grabbed her by her hair, taking a fistful over the side of her head. She tried to pull away, wincing, but Anderson held her up straight, turned to face her, reared his head back with a big frown, and threw his head down with a shout, smashing Erika's nose with his forehead, right up by his hairline. He let go of Erika as soon as the headbutt connected, and the incubus couldn't help but shut her eyes and stumble backwards, hard.

With a broken nose, the black eye he had already given her puffed up to the point of sealing shut, blinding her in one eye. Blood flooded down her nostrils in thick rivulets, and tears uncontrollably flooded her eyes. As she collapsed to the ground like a sack of bricks, she couldn't help but give legitimate whimpers of pain, trying not to quake as she held her nose. Still, even with the busted nose, even with the air feeling ice-cold in her damaged nostrils, she scrambled back in a hurry, getting back up to her feet fast enough that she nearly stumbled. When she opened her eyes and looked at Anderson, she was furious to find him down on a knee, praying. Her fury didn't last long once she discovered what aid he was calling upon.

Anderson, face now disfigured in multiple lashes from her facial attack, finished up his prayer within a second or two, then stood back up, opening his eyes to stare at her. Erika could barely bring herself to look surprised as a golden light washed across Anderson's body in a curtain, but unlike Luke's prayers for succour, Anderson's didn't fade away once it had passed over his body. Instead, it settled into an aura of white light around the perimeter of his body, persisting as his wounds slowly closed. Realization slowly dawned in Erika's watery eyes, a sight that made Anderson grin.

The bastard. He was having fun. He was toying with her. It didn't take a genius to figure out what that prayer had done. Instead of immediate rejuvenation, Anderson was being trickled full of restorative energy over a much longer period of time, making anything less than a critical injury something he could simply wait out. How long would the blessing last? Hard to say, and that worried her, most of all. Who knew how long he could sit at prime condition before she could drag him back down. He could've called in that heavenly favour at the very start of the fight, but the sadist had allowed her to think he bore the same weakness as other paladins. Only now that she had been badly injured did he reveal the truth: he wasn't an enemy she could overcome with a simple battle of attrition.

Erika's heart sank. All at once, the battle facing her took an undeniably demoralizing turn. She had traded harsh blow for harsh blow, and for what? Breathlessly sighing the words in huffs, Erika remarked "Well that...Is a new one..." "On the contrary. An old prayer born of fanaticism," Luke's voice called out, somewhere behind her. Anderson's grin died, reversing into a bit of a scowl before his lips were flattening into a hard line. Erika didn't turn her head, but Anderson's eyes shifted from her to just past her side. Luke, mouth bruised from whatever damage Anderson had inflicted inside it with his strikes, strode up to her side, eyes hard as he unblinkingly met the older paladin's stare.

Luke barely shook his head, then stated "Allow me to battle evermore, a walking weapon to smash the forces of the Morning Star, to send his lost souls away from this holy earth and confine them back where they truly belong." Is that what you want, Anderson?" Erika could read the faint, condescending hint that worked up into Luke's voice, prompting her one open eye to shift to the side, meandering into his general direction before locking back on Anderson's own. Luke's brow subtly sank. He offered a slow, subdued shake with his head, then muttered "Only a man who truly means that would be able to draw strength from that sentiment. That Heaven responds to that plea, for you...I pity you, Anderson. You're a prime example of how the Blessed Order has gone wrong."

Anderson's eyes narrowed for but a moment before he loudly spat at the ground, but he offered no verbal retort. Erika arched an eyebrow, glanced sidelong at Luke, and dismissively panted out "You're wasting your breath, there's no point talking to this asshole." Luke didn't take his eyes off of Anderson as he simply answered "There was a point in talking to you, wasn't there?" Erika's expression turned a hint perplexed. Anderson began to pace to the side, slowly trying to circle around the duo, obviously looking for an opening to strike from. Voice low, he coldly asserted "You should listen to your temptress, boy. We're long past words. That you even think you could sway me is insulting."

"I'm not trying to insult you," Luke pointed out. He swallowed some of his own blood, then gestured at Erika with a hand, trying not to sound cottonmouthed as he patiently said "Look at her. All you see is an evil that needs to be expunged. I ask you, how many lost souls are forever cut off from God because we, His mortal arm, violently reject them? She can still be saved!" At that, Anderson actually laughed. Smiling wide, he gave a slow, dry chuckle, eyebrows subtly raising before dropping back down. Voice low, he simply asked "Is that what she told you?" Erika's brow sank. Lips setting into a flat line, she nodded sidelong at Luke, then blurted out "That's what he tells me, gramps."

As Anderson paced about to Erika's weak side, she turned around and faced him with her uninjured arm, keeping her claws at the ready to discourage the veteran holy warrior. Luke stepped around Erika, sliding himself between the two. Anderson coolly stared at Luke, eyes half-closed as he offered a curt, matter-of-fact "She made the choice to sin, and sin egregiously enough to separate herself from God, at that. He made His judgement, and we exist to uphold that. Father Lloyd would be disappointed in you, boy." Erika slowly started to smirk, tossing Luke a sly sidelong glance. She was tempted to expose him for what he truly was and chew Anderson out on speaking down to an angel. After all, let's face it, who was going to understand righteousness better: some bitter old man, or somebody who had actually been to Heaven?

Luke never made such a prideful move. He opened his mouth to speak further, but Anderson impatiently charged, silencing the younger man before he could try and delay him any further from his sacred duty. Luke instantly looked furious - Anderson's stubbornness was, unfortunately, precisely what Luke had expected, and little could have disappointed him more. When Anderson went to swing his mace down into Luke's shoulder, Luke's hand shot up and slapped into the other man's wrist, catching him so resolutely that a clap filled the air. Anderson immediately threw out a cross with his off hand, but Luke thrust his arm out and barred Anderson's movements, jamming his forearm against the inside of the other man's elbow before his fist could connect, locking Anderson's hand over Luke's shoulder.

With a growl of annoyance, Anderson reared his head back, but Luke simply did the same, a split-second later. They struck in nearly the same instant. Not only did an uncomfortably meaty clunk fill the air as skull met skull, but skin split skin, causing crimson rivulets to run down from both men's foreheads at a startling rate. Before either of them pulled their heads back, Luke muttered "The boy's with God, Anderson! You've let his memory drag you down!" For the briefest moment, Luke saw confusion in Anderson's eyes, but then a bitter rage replaced it. Anderson pulled his head back and his off arm at the same time, then wrenched his other wrist out of Luke's hold, ready to swing his mace around for Luke's head.

The reckless swing at such close proximity was punished in an instant. Luke twisted and stepped in, bashing his shoulder into Anderson's chest. He wrapped an arm around Anderson's in one quick motion, then crossed his free arm against the shaft of Anderson's mace, twisting the wrist in the same moment. The bulkiness of Anderson's gauntlet worked against him, and not only did he lack the deftness to keep his grip on his weapon, but a bone in his wrist was fractured. The divine light awash about the mace faded as soon as it left Anderson's hand, and the heavy hunk of metal rang as it clunked against the ground, vibrating. The pain only served to further infuriate Anderson, and he launched his free hand around to Luke's jaw, grabbed, and was a second away from twisting when Erika struck his blind side.

As soon as the two men had gone forehead-to-forehead, Erika had slipped around to Anderson's rear side, simply waiting for the best opportunity to strike. Before his restorative prayer could heal his wrist, she came in close and jammed her hands up under his shoulders, slamming her five claws into his unprotected underarms like a wide, cleaving sheet, the five talons creating a thick enough laceration to all but disable both limbs. Then, she ducked low and, with a cackle, threw her claws across his heels, sheering straight through his greaves deep enough to sever his Achilles tendons. She may have been hurt, but she was hardly down, let alone out.

Anderson didn't make a sound, but his expression turned stunned and pale at the pain. His hand fell from Luke's jaw, and when Erika slammed her foot into the back of his knee, the veteran uncontrollably collapsed into a kneel. Luke had to step away from Anderson when he dropped, but he made sure to kick away the man's mace, in the process. When Erika threw her arms into his gorget and around his neck, Anderson grunted and pulled forwards to throw her off, but she dug her one remaining heel into the dirt and anchored herself, pulling back against Anderson's throat hard enough to choke the enfeebled man. Luke turned, watching the way Erika grinned, breathing hard and fast as her eyes glowed gold.

Anderson tried to raise his hands to knock Erika off, but his arms weren't being healed fast enough, and for the time being, his attempts were fairly pathetic, and the mere attempt made blood run all the more chaotically down the insides of his gauntlets and breastplate. Erika tightened her headlock in spite of the agony in her broken arm, crushing one arm against Anderson's throat, keeping the other to the rear of his head to ensure he remained trapped. The petite demon stared wide-eyed at the side of the paladin's face, excitedly muttering "Didn't expect this, huh? Maybe I'll take your other eye - blind paladins get early retirement, I hear!"

Red began to boil up in her irises, slowly replacing the gold until her eyes shone like bloody little stars. Compulsion made her voice echo. She dropped her tone to an unsettling calm as she added "Maybe I'll just corrupt you, too. Then you can see what it's like to walk a mile in my shoes."

Luke stepped in, putting his hands down on Erika's elbows. She looked up at him, surprised by the interruption, even more surprised by the firm look on his face as he asserted "Erika, remember what we talked about-"

Her brow furrowed as she defiantly uttered back "Since when did we ever talk about sparing people who try to kill me? To kill you?!"

Luke's brow furrowed deep as he retorted "Self-defence is one thing, defilement is another! I can't stand here and watch that, let him face his judgement in Heaven, if need be!"

Erika stared for a moment, then blinked. In an instant, the infernal crimson left her eyes, as did the compulsion filling her voice. Although she was dismissive, the sadism had been pacified from her voice, leaving her sounding more subdued as she muttered "...Fine, you're right." Anderson bared his teeth. Luke never saw the punch coming. Clearly, Anderson's right arm had healed well enough for him to move it, because without hesitation, he launched an uppercut straight between Luke's thighs. Even Erika winced, at that. Luke immediately wheezed, face twisting up and going red. He stumbled back and tried not to collapse, but ended up having to drop to a knee, clutching his groin in one hand.

Erika tried to hold on as Anderson shot up to both feet, but he threw her off in an instant, tearing her arms off of himself. When he advanced towards Luke and went for his mace, Erika's fury was reignited. Her moment of mercy was going to be repaid with another sucker punch? Instead of going after her, Anderson went for the man who had bought that moment of mercy, to begin with? Anderson raised his mace high, rushing a step closer to Luke, the two paladins glaring at each other as the strike was wound up. Erika noiselessly sprinted for Anderson's back, jumped, and threw her arms and legs around his back, throwing his upper body forwards.

Luke saw her plan and lunged forward, throwing his shoulder into Anderson's legs. The two working in tandem flung Anderson off-balance, and the veteran unceremoniously crashed down overtop Luke, flattening him down against the dirt so thoroughly that he could've broken one of the young man's ribs. Erika mindlessly tried to slash her claws into the man's neck, but with his thick gorget covering him from the jaw down, he had a precious second to retaliate. He twisted around with an elbow, bashing Erika in the side of the face hard enough to knock her off of himself, flipping him over onto his back in the process. Luke crawled over well enough to throw himself over Anderson's arm, trapping it back down against the grass.

Erika, panting, caught herself, furiously hissing "Cocksucker!" as she threw herself back onto Anderson before he could raise his mace, joining Luke in trapping his arms. The man glared at them as he struggled, already raising a leg to kick Luke off, lips shifting in silent prayer. Erika's pupils sharpened to slits. Oh no, he didn't. Whatever the hell he was asking for, it couldn't have been good. The two of them might not get another opening like this, not before one of them were killed, at least. Erika sucked in a breath to prepare herself, cocking back an elbow, aiming her claws somewhere unprotected. With a quick grunt of exertion, she thrust her hand down.

Her arm barely recoiled when it came to a sharp stop. Anderson couldn't even shout, but his mouth still wound up hanging open. Erika had dug a claw into either eye socket, and with her upwards angle, her claws had no doubt pierced clear into the front of his gray matter. Blood ran down both sides of his face, and when Erika hooked her fingers a couple times in rapid succession before tearing them back out, blood began to run from Anderson's nose, as well. Before her fingers had even come back out of his sockets, his body had gone limp. Erika watched Anderson's face for a couple seconds, warily watching for any sign of life, even so much as a hint that his healing prayer had the potential to keep him at the brink, then revive him back to fighting shape.

Anderson never moved. He never even breathed. The thin, white aura around his body subsided. Erika and Luke both heaved sighs, but where Erika was obviously relieved, Luke was clearly disappointed. Where Erika smiled and chuckled, Luke hung and shook his head. Erika gave a playful little groan, gave Anderson's forehead some condescending pats, and blurted out "Good God, he was tough. When he did that slow healing shit, he really threw me for a loop!" Luke wearily groaned, trying not to grunt and wince as he shifted himself off of Anderson's body. Erika did the same, openly wincing as she cradled her shattered arm to her stomach, eyes uncontrollably moistening anew at the pain. She watched as, to her surprise, Luke moved to pray, and it didn't seem like he was doing the sort of prayer that would fix his injuries, either.

He set himself over his knees, joined his hands, and bowed his head, keeping close by Anderson's left side, knees up under the man's outstretched arm. Erika tolerated the odd display for a couple seconds, but then she was blurting out "...You praying for him? Luke, this asshole tried to kill us!" Luke barely shook his head. He didn't raise his gaze to meet her's. Voice low, he simply answered "It's as much for me as it is for him. He was just a lost soul, not all that different from you, really. He was misguided, but his heart was in the right place...And it's not my place to fault him." Erika didn't answer, but her expression remained a bit cold. She didn't give half a squirt where Anderson went or how he got there, but slowly, she considered Luke's point. He was merciful to a fault, and look at where it had gotten her.

He had chosen differently, and the outcome had been different, better. Being as unmerciful towards Anderson as he had been towards her had offered the same tired old outcome, by contrast: kill or be killed. It was easier to feel sympathy for a man when he wasn't actively trying to feed her his mace, at any rate. Still, it took two to tango, and it wasn't like Anderson would've ever been as merciful as Luke. She had reacted the only logical way she could've. She cast a wary eye towards the slain paladin's blinded face, the look on her own face subtly softening. Still...Food for thought. After a moment, she asked "...You mentioned some kid, to him. What did you mean?" Again, Luke shook his head. "Just something he could never let go," he vaguely stated.

Luke waited a moment, then drew in a breath and sighed out "Whatever his sins were in life, he's with God, now. I don't think I need to tell you that he lacked compassion, like the rest of the paladins. Some might argue that that's acceptable towards demons, but I think differently. Trouble with that mentality is that the lack of compassion winds up infectious. He teaches others to feel the same callousness, and slowly, that lack of empathy expands beyond just demons. You take away a man's mercy, you wind up taking away other virtues, too. Still...He'll get the answers he needs, now. I can rest easy, knowing that."

Erika swallowed, dropped her eyes for a moment, then simply spoke her thoughts, blurting out "Balthazar always knew you were an angel, didn't he?" Luke finally raised his chin, looking over, a hint of confusion in his eyes. Erika, breathing a little heavily thanks to her bruised cheeks, watched his eyes, a subtly worried look on her face. She blinked her one open eye, lips barely shifting as she mumbled "That's why he cared, so much. Somehow, he knew you were an angel, probably right from the start. He knew you were trying to redeem me, and he knew you'd have half a shot at it. That's why he cared, so much. That's why he wanted me to kill you, so badly...He wanted me to ruin my own one chance at getting into Heaven. Right?"

Luke just looked at her for a moment, damaged mouth barely hanging ajar. After a moment, he just barely shrugged, nodded, and murmured "...It makes sense. I'd have to say so, although I don't know how he could've possibly known I was an angel. I did everything I could to hide it, I was even properly reincarnated as a mortal. Perhaps keeping tabs on you in the netherworld makes it easier to sense those kinds of things? I really couldn't say." Erika winced, voice tightening as she mumbled "...Well, listen, w-we can talk about this back at camp. Do ya think you could do another one of those healing miracles, yet? This guy did a real fuckin' number on me, my arm's wrecked. My eye and nose are killing me."

Luke hesitated, turning his eyes back to Anderson's body. Erika pulled a bit of a face. A bit insensitively, she blurted out "Oh, don't tell me you've lost your paladin powers, now, because you helped kill another paladin, or something. Please don't tell me I have to wait and heal the old-fashioned way. He was trying to kill us, he had it coming!" Luke blinked a couple times in quick succession, mouth hanging open as he found the words. He almost sounded a little confused as he slowly answered "No, uh...No, yeah, I can fix you up. Listen, um..." She watched as he reached out, slowly touching Anderson's one intact eyelid. She closed his ruined eye, then began to reach over for his arms, guiding his hands together over his stomach, putting the man in a more graceful pose.

"...There's something I need to do," Luke said, trying not to mumble. He barely arched an eyebrow, looked over in her general direction, and added "I might be a while. I'll heal you, and then...You don't have to wait up, for me. You can just go on back to camp...There's just something I need to do." Erika's expression slowly turned a hint contrite. Quietly, she asked "You're gonna bury him, aren't you?" Luke simply nodded. He stood up, wincing and groaning in the process, then shuffled his way around Anderson's body. She got up to her feet as he reached her, looking up and watching his eyes as he silently prayed, taking her by the shoulders mid-verse.

After a few moments, that same anodyne came to her in golden light, that same succour Luke had blessed her with following their battle with Samael. At first, Erika was relieved almost to the point of tearful ecstasy - her broken shoulder and arm, the worst of her injuries, slowly mended themselves, and just as steadily, the harsh swelling sealing her left eye began to lessen...And then, to her confusion, the anodyne simply stopped, cutting itself off from her before she were even fully rejuvenated. As he let go of her shoulders, she eased her still-sore arm down straight by her side, looking up at him with clear confusion as she mumbled "Hey, I'm not...I'm still hurt, man. What's wrong?"

Luke didn't seem perplexed. He turned to look at Anderson, mumbling "That was the best we could be afforded, I suppose...I need to bury him, Erika. Like I said, you don't have to sit around and wait, this could take a while." She leaned to the side, reaching out to touch his arm. Looking even more confused now, she mumbled "Hey, you're not gonna fix yourself up? You've gotta do something about that mouth, soldier boy, he really knocked you around." "...After," he simply answered, failing to look at her. "Not until I'm done." Erika couldn't help but look a little deflated, at that. This was something he really needed to do, she supposed...And alone, at that. Maybe he was just trying to save her the boredom. Maybe not.

"...Okay, I'll be in the tent," she assured him. He merely nodded, and she simply turned to go. As she walked away, she expected him to change his mind and ask if she'd like to observe, but he never did. Sitting around the camp and waiting for him to come back was about as unenjoyable as one might've suspected. There wasn't much for her to do but shuffle around and suffer through her lingering injuries, along with waiting for her broken high heel to regenerate itself with tedious torpor. She washed herself up and got the blood off, but that didn't consume much time, unfortunately. Eventually, she couldn't help but reflect on what she and Luke had done, and perhaps that had partly been his intent. Maybe pushing for isolation had been his way of getting her to think on the loss of another holy man's life.

She didn't think there was much she or Luke could've done differently that would've made the situation turn out for the better, but she had to admit, thinking to try corrupting Anderson for a laugh may have been going a little too far. It's not like she had really meant it, though, or so she told herself - Anderson could've been many things, but at the top of her "To-Fuck" list wasn't one of them. Getting him sent to the netherworld had only been a heat of the moment thing, she was positive of that. Still...Maybe she should've known better than to joke about cutting people off from Heaven, especially after the things Luke had told her the night before. Eventually, her devout lover returned, and when he did, he was in noticeably better spirits.

She looked up to the tent flaps once she heard his footsteps entering their camp, and when he knelt down into the tent opening with a weary sigh, she smiled. "Hey," he simply greeted with a matching smile, turning around to sit down in the tent entrance. As he untied and pulled off his boots, she sat up on her knees and started shimmying over, asking "Hey...Taken care of all that business?" He nodded, and after a moment, thought to passively explain "Yeah. Couldn't really bury him without a spade, so I made a cairn for him, instead. Took a bit to find enough stones. Then, I just...Prayed for a while. Contemplated, meditated. But, that's all done, now. Sorry to keep you waiting."

Once his boots were loosened up enough, he tiredly pulled them off and tossed them aside, then dropped back into the foot-half of their bedding, groaning with exhaustion. She couldn't help but smile, watching him with half-closed eyes. Aww, poor paladin was all tuckered out, it seemed. Look at him, all sweaty, and such. He had already cleaned off the blood from the fight, but maybe another bath was already in order. At least he had healed himself, at some point. Anderson could've knocked out half the teeth in Luke's mouth, and she would've hated to see the big guy's smile ruined. She gave a loud, playful sigh as she shifted over and put her knees above his head, getting herself behind him.

She curled a finger through his bangs, then leaned over and pressed a smooch to his forehead. A bit playfully, she teased "Look at you, all sleepy and stuff...Hey, uh, think you could fix me up, now? I hate to admit it, but that healing stuff is a lot less annoying when you're the one actually on the receiving end of it, and I still can't see through my left eye." Luke perked up, as if he were surprised that it had slipped his mind. "Oh, right, yeah, sorry," he hastily murmured. He reached up and groped around for her hands, and she helpfully reached over to save him the time. She watched the way he closed his eyes, those lips of his shifting about as he silently spoke to the heavens, beseeching God's aid one last time on her behalf.

She blinked, smile slowly spreading wider. She closed her eyes, leaned over, and let her hair brush either side of his face as she delicately brushed his lips with her own. Although Luke gave a little "Mm," he kept praying in spite of her kisses, and within a few seconds, a fresh surge of anodyne was flowing through her body, coursing into her straight from his mouth. She deflated with a deep, slow sigh against his face, at last feeling her swollen eye right itself, her broken nose fully fit itself, her bruises and aches soothe themselves...Even her broken bone heel hastened the regeneration process, growing back out until the incubus was once again stepping on stilettos like a true seductress. All was right with Erika's world, once more. Thank God, and literally, at that.

She eased her head to the side and gave a steamier kiss to the corner of Luke's mouth, smudging him with a bit of her pink lipstick, in the process. She breathed a quiet "Thank you," then sat back with a fatigued groan, throwing out a leg until it trailed down his right side, plopping herself back on her cushiony caboose. She gave a little smirk, sightlessly gazed out through the tent's opening, and idly groaned out "...That's definitely not how I expected today to start, that's for sure." Luke didn't move from his prone position, staring at the tent ceiling while mumbling back "You could say that, again."

She waited a moment, then lightly asked "...It really bugs you that we had to fight a paladin, huh?" Luke similarly waited a moment, then sighed out "Yeah...I was hoping I could talk him down. And before you say it, I know. Paladins are stubborn. I was hoping this one might turn out differently." She barely shrugged with her eyebrows. Eyes placid, barely open, she let them drift down to his face as she murmured "You can't fix everything with words, Luke. If someone doesn't want to listen, they won't hear you." Luke needed a second, but then he was patiently conceding "I know." They descended into a comfortable silence for a few moments, but then Erika was grumbling with agitation. Beginning to pull at her clothing, she quietly remarked "Get me outta this latex, already, I need to breathe."

Luke raised an eyebrow, shifting his head back to look up at her. Before she had even taken off her thigh-high boots, he sat up and followed her example, remarking "You know what, I'm with you. I didn't even get a chance to take a bath, this morning...Come to think of it, I should've just done that while I washed up. Guess I wasn't thinking straight." She smirked and gave a chuckle, tossing him a few glances as he joined her in stripping down. His pants started the pile, but her boots and the fishnet sleeve for her tail came next. His white sweater, unfortunately now speckled with dried blood, flopped overtop, joined shortly after by her latex opera gloves and metal pasties.

He thought to leave on his trunks, but when she gave him a grin and finger twirl, they joined the pile. Her little black thong was daintily tossed overtop, and his socks fell near the bottom of the clothing platter. Now, they wore only their accessories: his crucifix, her rosary bracelet, and that leather collar she never parted with. He fell back into the bed with another groan, dropping a hand over his stomach as he rested his weary bones, feet still sticking out through the tent's flaps. A rather contented smile came to her as she settled herself down over her side, lying on her hip just by his head, leaving her legs folded as she propped herself up on an elbow.

As she brought the other hand over and idly raked her fingers through his bangs, the tall, blonde paladin idly remarked "I hadn't even finished putting together breakfast when Anderson showed up. I almost got him out of here before you showed up, too." Eyes closed, he gave a sigh through his nose, briefly shaking his head before adding "I should've been smoother. I could've had all three of us avoid this." Her eyes lingered half-closed as she confidently remarked "Hey, we're still alive. I call that a win. Any life-or-death fight you walk away from is a victory." Luke just gave a hum by way of response. The curvy redhead smiled wider, trailing a fingertip across one of his eyebrows before trailing the back of her digit across his cheek.

She looked up past his muscular body, idly peering outside the tent. Her smile faded before she asked "...You think anybody's gonna come looking for him?" "It's a very good possibility," Luke readily admitted. Erika looked back down towards his face. She trailed a fingertip between his lower lip and his chin, rather casually dismissing the danger by murmuring "Well, I needed to find a new lair, anyway. Suppose it's time to pick up sticks and move on. The people in these cities are getting hit too hard by sex demons nowadays, anyway. Time to find somewhere quiet, hopefully far, far away from anybody that's gonna miss soldier boy number two."

Luke waited a moment, then passively mumbled "That could work for now, but you know as well as I do that there'll be no running from Balthazar." She glanced skyward. A bit under her breath, she grumbled "Don't remind me." When she spied him smiling, she smiled wider, brow furrowing just a hint. She shifted herself closer to him, brought her face over his, and again gave him some upside-down kisses, her hand just under his jaw as she went nose-to-chin with him. He returned every kiss, but eventually, she felt his hand rise from his stomach to the top of her head. When he rubbed against her silky hair, she raised her head just enough to let him speak, eyes barely open as he murmured "I'm getting hungry, I should get that stew going...Then maybe take a bath."

She drew in a deep breath through her nose, offering a quick, noisy sigh in response. She rolled to the side, flopping herself down over her back. Before breaking out into a big stretch, she yawned "You do that...I almost feel like taking a nap." He looked upwards at her before he started to sit up, reaching for his trunks as he lightly commented "Go ahead, if you need it. I'll keep watch." She gave barely a groan in response. She'd rather he join her and play the part of body pillow again, but a lookout was good, too. She turned her head and watched him stand up outside the tent, pull his trunks on, and walk off towards the bonfire. She found herself smiling, then throwing her hands behind her head. Anderson had been a tougher fight than Samael, but again, they had both come out alright. What else lay on the horizon, besides Balthazar?

In spite of her fatigue, Erika never actually settled in for a nap, opting instead to wait for Luke to come back. Once he had put together his breakfast, he went off for a quick bath, and by the time he had come back, the stew had come to a boil. He ladled himself a bowl, gave it about fifteen minutes of stirring to cool, then tucked in. When he came back to the tent, presumably to lounge about with her and potentially have a nap of his own, he found her wide awake and waiting, smiling cheekily at him. Playfully, she remarked "What happened to keeping watch, eh?"

He smiled back, snipping back "What happened to taking a nap, huh?" She grinned. She gave a shrug as she started sitting up, dryly remarking "Eh, changed my mind." He barely hummed, crawling into the tent on his hands and knees before stopping near her, sitting up on his legs. She joined him on her knees, the spaded tip of her tail held high behind her, barely flicking left and right as she turned to face him. Luke had to subtly swallow as his eyes dipped far across her body. She was already at half-mast, not quite big enough to rise, but certainly engorged enough to draw the eye and signal what was on her mind. She slowly shuffled closer to him on her knees, gracefully swinging her hips with every languid movement.

Her eyes dipped to his chest, then rose back to his eyes. Smiling wide, she playfully cooed "So, I've been thinking..."

"You've been thinking?" Luke coyly repeated, smile slowly widening into a grin. Oh, boy.

"Yes, I've been thinking," Erika repeated, flashing a grin of her own. She reached out and took him by his hips, trailing her fingertips up across his abs, moving for his chest. She tilted her head back and looked up into his eyes, the petite incubus giving her lip a quick nibble before she was throwing him an open-mouth smile. "I've just been thinking about all the times we've fooled around," she readily admitted, a laugh bubbling in her chest. Raising her eyebrow, she added "And, you know what I've figured out?" Luke smiled, slowly exhaling through his nose. Eyes half-closed, he barely tilted his head to the side, then played her game. "I'll bite. What did you figure out, Erika?"

She raised both her eyebrows high, gave a little titter, and circled a fingertip around one of his nipples. "I figured out that I'm always the one in the driver's seat," she nonchalantly remarked. He barely raised his eyebrows, eyes flicking off past her head, looking at nothing in particular. She closed an eye in a slow wink, giving him a grin before explaining. "I'm always the one calling all the shots and pushing you to do stuff, and sometimes, I have to push a little hard." At that, she grinned again, dropped a hand, and gave his naughty bits a bit of a honking, trying to see if she had yet provoked a response. Nothing just yet, but she was only getting started.

She gave a purr, made a show of fluttering her eyelashes, and dropped her chin as she shook her head, demurely looking upwards at him from behind her bangs. Full, pouty lips forming a mischievous little smile, pink lipstick making her look as glossy as ever, she cooed "Y'know, as fun as it is to make you my sex slave and make you do every little thing I could think of, I'm starting to wonder if you really like it as much as I do." She raised her eyebrows high, beamed from ear to ear, and slowly wagged her hips left and right, jokingly adding "Starting to feel a little one-sided, over here. We wouldn't want that, would we? We should do something about that!" She furrowed her brow, gave a devilish grin, and uttered "Like, right now."

He made a show of giving a resigned sigh, again looking out past the top of her head. Smiling wide, he quietly mumbled "Of course it has to be right now. Not tonight, not an hour from now, but right now." Raising his eyebrows, he looked back down into her eyes, playfully raising his voice a little as he remarked "And what do you mean, wondering if I really like it as much as you do? Have I ever stopped you?" She pouted her lower lip out far, gave a quick shrug, and coyly mumbled "No, but that doesn't really mean anything. You were just too scared of the sex demon to fight back, you were putty in my hands." He smiled from ear to ear, again looking past her head in long-suffering indignation, prompting her to flash another fang-exposing grin up at him.

Idly tugging at his manhood, gently trying to coax a response out of his oversized weapon, she leaned in, pressed a quick peck to his chest, then leaned back out and cooed "So, I was thinking...Why don't you show me how much you really want me, lover boy? Why don't you take charge and really ravish me, for once?" She winked, then leaned in close enough to press her chest up against him, letting her perky, pillowy bust smoosh against his stomach while she started planting a few more little kisses against his chest. She slid her free hand around him to his back, gently raking her fingernails across his skin. When life started to flush into his claymore of a member, she couldn't help but smile wide. There we go, now we're getting somewhere...

Her heart rate slowly picking up, she had to swallow before she was cooing against his chest, letting her eyes close in the process. "I think you're due for a chance to be in charge, if you want it," she breathed out. Grinning now, she murmured "I could do anything your innocent little mind cooked up...How often does a hunk like you have a little demon like me for a plaything? Just think of all the naughty stuff we could do, together...When I think of the stuff you could do to me, if you actually put your mind to it...Mmm..." She drew in a little breath, curvaceous body giving the littlest shiver against him before she sighed the jitters out. She tilted her head back to look up at him, beaming as she cooed "It gives me the shakes, you know?..."

His face was flushing. Strength continued to flow into his rod, his intimidating slab of meat growing in her hand until it began to rise, helplessly shifting against her's thanks to their proximity. She could almost hear him gulp, and only slowly, he started to put his arms around her. She purred when those strong arms of his arms lightly held her close, and when one of his hands stroked down to her tush, she gave a bubbly titter, winking up at him. He gently squeezed a billowing cheek, lightly sinking his fingers into her pillowy seat cushion for a good fondle before reluctantly mumbling "I, uh...I dunno, Erika, I'm not so sure I'm comfortable doing that...I'm not used to really, uh...Well...Calling shots. I'm not really rough, like that. That's more your thing."

She gave another purring chuckle, hungrily grinning wide before cooing "Aw, c'mon, big guy! It's just a little role reversal, you can handle that, can't you? Don't you wanna make me your love slave, even for a little? I'll do anything you say..." She could hear, feel, Luke's breathing escalate, and the sound only had her manhood giving an excited twitch, bopping against his own. He was coming around, it was plain to see. Just a little more pressure, and he'd fold. A hint breathlessly, he slowly asked "...You'd do anything I asked?"

She slowly dragged her tongue in a short stripe across his chest, then sat up higher and brought her mouth closer to his throat. "Anything you say," she breathed. Smiling sneakily, she gave a sultry sigh, an almost-moan, and added "All you gotta do is talk to me, baby...Tell me what you want me to do...Make me do whatever you want. Want me to throat it? Just say it. Wanna eat my ass? Tell me. Wanna plow me until I blow all over my own face? Just put me on my shoulders, soldier boy. It's all up to you, this time. I want you to give in and really take me. Treat me like the demon slut I am, stud."

She grinned and purred a hungry chuckle. A few good pulses and flexes throbbed inside her petting fist. She had almost worked him to full strength, down there...One more good push would have him completely raring to go. She let go of his fairly firm length, reached closer to herself, and took a light hold of her own hot pipe. She eased her hips closer to him, guiding her lap to his until, in one simple motion, her master plan was fulfilled. She gently touched the tip of her drippy manhood straight to his, simultaneously letting loose a steamy exhale against his throat. When her hot tip touched his, when her own girly sap acted like a sticky lube and let their helmets slide against each other in a kiss, she could practically hear his resistance cracking like glass.

Luke tilted his head to look down at her, immediately breathing out a simple, hasty "Okay, okay!...I can try. Maybe it'll be fun..." She leaned back from him to meet his eyes, triumphantly grinning from ear to ear at how red he was. Aw, poor baby! He looked like she had already worked him into a lather, the poor lunkhead - not only was he flushed like a strawberry, but his eyes were almost unfocused, his lips left open just a crack as he breathed slowly, deeply. She gave him a demure eyebrow raise to tease his uncouth salaciousness, blowing him a quick little kiss as she tapped the end of her rod down against his, playfully batting their impressive members together, a few times. How lewd, the paladin wanted to dominate the little demon, now? He should've known better than to fall for her seduction...Oh hoh, how very juicy!

She let go of her meat a moment later, letting their stiff claymores jut towards each other's lap as she took him by the waist. Slowly sashaying her hips to and fro, she languidly waved her tail back and forth behind herself, watching his face with a big, excited smile. In little more than a murmur, she warmly cooed "Atta boy, I knew you'd come around...What do you want me to do first? Just give me an order, and I'll do it. I wanna know what you really want to see me do. Don't hold back, now..." He started to smile and, after a moment of thought and letting his eyes idly shift about, he gave a little shrug and innocently asked "Are you still sore from the fight?"

What?

She blinked. He smiled wider, looked back into her eyes, and explained "I could give you a massage, if you're still sore. We don't have any oils, but I could make do." She gave him a bit of an amused smile, cocking an eyebrow up at him. What an innocent request to make. He could've gotten anything, and he wanted that? Well...Hopefully, a massage was just the beginning of nastier things, but she never could tell with Luke. This was the first time he was in charge, and who knew how spectacularly he might blow it. She casually lied, roleplaying with his request by giving a bit of a wince, tiredly murmuring "Yeah, you know, I think I am, a little. He really made me run my ass off, that second time I bolted."

He smiled wide and gave her rump an affectionate patting, gently clapping her cheek just hard enough to get it jiggling. "Go ahead and lie down, then," he instructed. A moment later, he kept up the roleplay a little more and asked "Where are you sore?" She couldn't hide a smile as they unhanded each other, and as she turned and laid herself down over her front, making it a point to move stiffly and act like a cramp were hitting her, she grunted "Urh...My back. My lower back. It's hard to lean around, and bending over is basically impossible." "Well, we wouldn't want that," Luke readily answered, prompting a devilish grin to cross her face. No, we certainly wouldn't, would we?

She settled herself down over her front with a contented sigh, pulling over one of their pillows for her to rest the side of her face against. She slid both hands underneath the pillow and stretched her legs out, striking a nice, laidback pose for the big, strong paladin playing masseur. She gave a warm smile and hummed, opening her eyes a slit to peer over at him, spying his reaction to her waiting pose. Oh, what a sight lay before him: that short, redheaded seductress, silky hair a mess on the pillow, arms tucked up to expose the way her E-cups pressed into the blanket beneath her, back gently sloping down at her narrow waist only to flare out with those voluptuous hips, rising up to that big, wobbly bubble butt, running down to those thick thighs and, ultimately, the bone-like points of her unholy high heels. She was so beautiful...Intimidating, sometimes, but always gorgeous.

Her smile widened at the way he couldn't help but let his eyes roam, drinking in the sight of her waiting for him. She gave a little twitch with her wings, then a sharp whip with her tail. She closed her eyes and raised her head, adopting a comically poorly-acted tone of pain as she whimpered "Ooh, ow, ouchie, my muscles! Where's my massage?" Either he couldn't read her intentionally awful acting or he was willing to roleplay more earnestly, because he seemed pretty genuinely remorseful as he sprang into action. "Sorry, I'm sorry, here, just try to relax," he reassured, shimmying closer to her on his knees. She stopped wincing and rested the side of her face back down on her pillow, a small, yet sharp, smirk crossing her lips. He was pretty into this idea, wasn't he?...

She kept still as she felt him straddle her legs, his knees pressing into the blanket on either side of her thighs. She nearly gave a tiny flinch when his hands lightly came down on either side of her ribs, between her wings and the round globes of her breasts, helplessly pushing outwards from the pressure over her chest. She closed her eyes and smiled widely, listening to him ask "So, ah...Where did you say it was sore, again?" "Mm, my lower back," she purred, grinning. He gave a little hum. She felt his fingertips trail up her back, then come between the bases of her wings, following her spine up to her shoulder blades. She grinned wider for a moment, then cooed "Wrong direction, lover boy..."

He chuckled, behind her. His fingertips followed up a bit of her wings, delicately touching across the membrane of her folded limbs, feeling the smooth material glide under his prints. With a hint of curiosity, he mumbled "...I've never really taken the time to touch your wings, before..." "I wonder why," she quietly sighed, a hint of boredom lying underneath. He slipped his fingertips off of her wings, mumbling an apology. She grinned and more earnestly added "No, don't apologize. I don't really mind. We're doing whatever you want, right now. If you wanna touch my wings, go ahead. I just thought I was in for a massage, is all, and...Ooh, ah, the cramp's coming back!..."

"Okay, alright," he patiently chuckled, smiling to himself. She hummed encouragingly when his fingertips found her spine again, then spread out just beside it, following her back down to the dip, gently touching into the small of her lower back. He lightly began to rub his fingertips around in circles, then asked "Around here?..." "Mhm," she enthusiastically hummed, "right around there. Maybe a little higher..." He slid his fingertips higher, then put his thumbs into it, more firmly rubbing circles into her skin.

"Here?" He asked, shifting his knees. Something hot and firm dropped down, poking her between her thighs.

She smiled from ear to ear. "Mhm, right there," she purred, giving some wiggles with her tail. She eased the long, smooth limb down until the spaded tip touched his chest, and with a deep, happy sigh, she started rubbing her tail up and down his chest and stomach, massaging him right back, stroking from his collar bones down to nearly his loins. Her eyes tightened in a bit of a legitimate wince when he found a knot in her back and started to put both thumbs into it, working at it until it dissipated. She gave a quiet sigh, mouth opening in a tiny "o" at the relief before she was smiling, again. She gave a wordless murmur, then mumbled "Mm, thank you...I didn't even know that that spot was tight...Feels so much better, now..."

He hummed in acknowledgement, going back to rubbing firmly a little lower down. Erika gave a fulfilled sigh, gently rubbing her face against her pillow. She had to admit, this was pretty damn relaxing. When was the last time somebody had actually massaged her? She couldn't even remember, it had been so long. Under Luke's big hands, her entire body were turning to jelly, each muscle slowly relaxing until she felt weightless, powerless...A stark contrast to her cock, of course. She may have been lying over the thing, but it was still as rigid as ever, and this surprisingly pleasant massage was doing nothing to calm it down. Still, even with the trickling tip smearing her belly, she felt quite content to simply lay there and enjoy Luke's ministrations.

She subtly rocked her hips a couple times, gently humping against the blanket beneath herself, rubbing her shaft across the velvety material. With a light giggle, she grinned and suggested "Hey, go a little lower, I think I can feel a new cramp coming on..." He gave an adorably confused "Uhh," but followed her instructions and felt his fingertips lower, coming to the base of her tail. Slowly, he asked "Er...Right here?" She grinned, flicking the tip of her tail up and down his abs. "Almost," she breathed. He slowly went lower, fingertips rising the swells of her cushiony cheeks. His hands delicately dropped down until his palms pressed against her halves, and then he asked "Um...Here?"

"Mm, that's right," she cooed, snickering to herself. There was just one moment of hesitation from him. Then, he started to gently, albeit firmly, massage her buns, pressing his hands against her as he stroked circles into her, occasionally closing his fingers towards his thumbs to sweep across her juiciness. Slowly, he grumbled "This doesn't seem like any sort of massage I learned about..." She smiled from ear to ear, opening her eyes a crack as she gave a long, loud "Hmmm." Without announcing it, she simply spread her ankles apart, widening her legs until her thighs parted, just underneath him. She could practically hear him gulp - he was just too adorable, sometimes. She had to grin. With her thighs spaced open a little, he now had an irresistible window opening up, below his hands.

Not only could he clearly see her apple-sized balls, full and heavy inside her big beanbag, drooping just below her rump, but with her legs parted, it was now just a bit easier to get a peek at her taint and in between those voluminous cheeks of her's, to get a glance into her valley and spy the forbidden treasure winking within. She finally stroked the tip of her tail all the way down, running it to his navel before working even lower. She crossed his mons, found the base of his manhood, and slowly started to coil her tail around it, the heat of his member against her silken tail prompting her to nibble her lip. She gave a steamy groan, then breathed out "Ohh, my cramp's going away...Thanks, big guy...I really needed this..."

"D-Don't mention it," he answered, a hint breathlessly. When he momentarily spaced her cheeks apart in the middle of his rubbing, rather conspicuously parting her over-padded cushions for a better glimpse at her dark star, not only did she tease him by giving a great flex and winking it at him, but she gently pulled with her tail, giving his manhood a bit of a stroke with her coiled limb. To her surprise, he let go of her buns a moment later, and when he shuffled back on his knees, she had no choice but to gracefully slide her tail out of the coil it had on his prick, reluctantly letting him go. "W-What about your legs," he asked, sounding so adorably worked up. She grinned and sighed out "Oh, my legs are fine, don't you worry."

"What about your feet, then?"

She arched an eyebrow. Persistent, wasn't he? Holding back a groan, she answered "My feet are fine, too, but you know what could really use a muh-?"

She cut herself off when he got off of her entirely, sitting on his knees by her feet. He took her left foot in his hands, lifted it up towards himself to get it in his lap, then started to work his thumbs into the sole of her foot, paying special attention to the long muscles running from the balls of her feet to the heel, just in front of the base of her horn-like heel. The reaction from Erika was both strong and immediate. She could've pulled herself away, or thrust herself up on her hands to pull her legs away. She screwed her eyes shut, mouth opening in a wince as she sucked in a sharp gasp. She helplessly thrust her hips forwards into the bed, uncontrollably flexing her bum tight. She threw her arms down by her sides, unconsciously reaching to stop the sensation. The toes of both feet spaced apart, and her tail shot up like a startled feline's.

She opened her eyes, mouth dropping open as a look of abject confusion, almost fear, crossed her face. A great quake ran down her spine, prompting her wings to twitch open in a miniature stretch before folding, once more. She held her breath for a moment as he kept rubbing across the sole of her foot, then noisily exhaled a shocked "Hooo...!" Luke brought one hand under her foot, dropping it across the topside to hold it in place, continually working the thumb of the other hand across her muscles. "Hm...That feels good, huh? Sounds like you needed this, after all," he warmly suggested. Dew was already building up at the corners of her eyes out of ecstasy.

She let her eyes ease closed, then mumbled "Oh, God!...That...That...!" She trailed off with a shaky inhale, sharp between her teeth. Luke smiled to himself, warmly glancing up to her head before focusing back down on her foot. He kept rubbing her sole for a minute, then started to work between her toes, prompting her to whimper, leg twitching all the while. Quietly, she admitted "I...I can't even remember the last time somebody touched my feet!...It almost hurts!..." He gave a hum, spent a minute massaging her ankle, then set her foot down and moved on to the other. Again, touching those tender, tragically unloved muscles instantly sent the demon into euphorics, but Luke's gentle hands were insistent, and although she shed tears at the sensation, she never pulled away, no matter how sensitive the response shooting through her nerves may have been.

If her body hadn't been reduced to jelly before, it certainly had, now. By the time Luke was done with her second foot, she had long gone limp, reduced to pliable putty sprawled out across the blanket. All she could do was moan as he massaged back up her calves, her thighs, and came right back up to her tush. He ran his hands along her hips, stroked back up those thick thighs of her's, and began to more overtly play with her cheeks, groping them a fair bit more firmly, insistently rubbing them around, jiggling them together, and spacing them apart, having his fun playing with her manslaying derriere. Her tail barely flickered in response.

"The cramp was here, wasn't it?..." He asked, a little breathlessly. All she could do was give a groan to the affirmative. God, he could've rubbed her anywhere for all she cared, she just didn't want him to stop! When he straddled her thighs a little more closer and more overtly dropped the hot battering ram of his lust high into the gap between her thighs, she had to fight, really fight, an urge to just thrust her hips back and start grinding herself against his lap. She could heard his breathing escalate as he lifted one hand away from her rump, and after a brief pause, she heard a quick sucking sound, just for a split-second. She understood what he was planning to do before his saliva-moistened thumb had even pressed between her cheeks.

"I think this cramp might take a little more hard work to get out..."

Her body was too limp to even tense up when the thick digit came right up against her underused pucker. Luke started to push, and rather insistently at that, almost forcing her ring in as he prompted it to yawn open, letting his tip poke into her depths proper. She put her teeth on edge for a moment before, eyes still closed, she mindlessly groaned out "Y-Yeah, the cramp's deep..." Luke pushed more of his digit into her, huskily remarking "Let's...Work that knot out of you, shall we?..." Within a moment, Erika felt his print come over the swollen bulge of her prostate, the muscular round knot in her wall so easy to find, as well-defined as it was. Without any hesitation, Luke pressed down against it hard, deftly wiggling his thumb in quick revolutions, forcefully running his print in laps around and against her magic spot.

Again, he coaxed an immediate, intense reaction out of Erika. The sharp, tingling pleasure that erupted inside her body was enough to make her squeal, to make her suck in a loud, sharp gasp, to make her helplessly arch her back and thrust her hips back against his hand. Immediately, she breathlessly panted out "Th-There! Oh God, right there, th-that's the spot!! Don't stop!" Luke didn't answer, but he kept right on flipping her switch, occasionally thrusting his hand against her so that his thumb might run across her button like a miniature cock. Touching her special spot like that was more than she could take, at that point. The whimpers she gave were sharp, high-pitched, girly, pitiful mewls for air as the ecstasy shocked her. Fucking hell, the feeling was so strong!

That stunningly intense sensation flooding her crotch, filling the void between her front and back, she just couldn't help but screw her eyes shut and start gasping. Her toes curling, she shakily dropped her hips back down to the bed, fidgeting her legs underneath him as he crushed her oversized P-spot under his thumb, vigorously massaging it as hard as he could. She pressed her lips tight together in a big frown, fresh tears trickling from the corners of her eyes. Oh, God, that felt so fucking good! It was like an electric current were filling the space between her ass and her agonizingly stiff manhood, jolting through her urethra and coaxing pre-cum out of her in a steady flow of dribbles and drops, making her helplessly squeeze and clench her backdoor down on his invading digit.

She gasped and moaned, her whole body beginning to gently tremble and quake underneath him. She helplessly started lifting her feet up into the air behind him, toes still spaced wide apart. She gripped at the blanket as that potent feeling kept escalating in her crotch, like a constant climax that slowly built up in intensity until, at last, with a jolt hard enough to make her shudder, it hit a peak and sent her over. Her silky insides started to clench more wildly, crushing his thumb inside, pressing him against her prostate as it helplessly rose up in an anal orgasm.

"Nngh! Hahh!"

Erika heaved a sigh as that constant sap flowing up her cum-vein suddenly turned thicker, and now, the contribution running free flowed more forcefully. Every time a jet squirted free and hit the blanket under her belly, her ass tensed in a quick clench, and more than once, she squeaked with the tiniest grunt of exertion, of ecstasy, of overwhelming satisfaction at having her liquid lust milked straight out of her the best way possible. Even though Luke easily could've tortured the poor incubus by continuing to grind her prostate throughout her anal orgasm, he was too much of a sweetheart to force her into a second climax, although he had to admit, it could've been fun to see her cum over and over again...

He dunked his free hand between her thighs and gently cradled her oversized orbs as well as he could, gently playing with her tight beanbag as she rode down her high, encouraging her hyperactive reactors to let loose as much of her salty naughtiness as they could. Once her ring had stopped flexing quite so hard, he eased his thumb back out of her lovely backdoor, then unhanded her practically sloshing balls. Erika, panting, pushed herself up on a hand, and once Luke had shuffled away on his knees, she rolled herself over onto her back, exposing her sweat-glistening face and cleavage...Not to mention the syrupy mess she had made against her own belly, let alone the blanket.

Eyes still a little dewy, mouth hanging open a crack, face flushed a lovely shade of red, she breathed hard as she looked down at her stomach, eyeing the rich, milky slop he had so easily coaxed her into pouring forth. As always, the incubus had let loose an inhuman amount of spunk, having blasted the bed with a load more than big enough to flood a womb. Bringing a hand down to her stomach, idly rubbing around the sticky, slimy lust, she breathlessly mumbled "You made me pop my top..." She raised her eyes to his. He was almost as flushed as she was, breathing huskily as he observed his handiwork with lust-lost eyes. She unconsciously swallowed as her eyes dropped to his loins, to that monster of an eleven-incher he had, standing rigid and red for her. He needed it, bad.

Eyes glazing, she mumbled "...What do you want me to do next?...I hope you weren't planning on stopping at a massage..." He promptly gave a subtle shake with his head. Eyeing the mess she had splattered and smeared her defined abs with, he glanced down at himself, then looked up to her eyes as he quietly asked "Do that thing you did before...Use your cum to lube me up." She gave a breathless huff of a chuckle, face going a shade more crimson as she flashed him a big grin. As she sat up towards him, she remarked "You read my mind, soldier boy. Just hold still, I'll take care of-" He raised his hand up under her jaw, gently tilting her head back as he dropped in close, pressing a deep, intense kiss to her lips. Her eyelids just fell shut as her voice was muffled into a coo.

He readily tried snaking his tongue between her lips, and she opened her mouth in nearly the same instant, loving the way his hot breath filled her mouth as they coiled tongues. She took in a quick breath through her nose, then gave a steamy sigh against his cheek, cooing into his mouth as their saliva mingled. Something stirred, deep inside. A glimmer crept between her eyelashes. God...She really loved this guy. She couldn't imagine what he must have gone through, all that time. The time between her death and their reintroduction must've been his own personal hell. But, that didn't matter, anymore...They were together, again. They could make it right.

She slowly ran her hands around her tummy, slathering her hands in her own all-natural lubricant, leaving her belly shiny and glistening with her own unholy seed. Once she was satisfied, she brought her hands over to his long, thick manhood, wiping as much of it off on him as she could. She freshly smeared her hands one more time, catching the stray rivulets that had flowed down her hip or lap, every last drop she could sweep up with her fingers. Then, she wrapped her hands around his rod once more, giving a hungry groan in her throat as she ran her fists back and forth across him, filling his lap with sticky wet sounds. Too excited to take it slow by that point, she greedily jerked her hands back and forth, enthusiastically rubbing him with her semen, spreading it from his tip to his root, slathering him up for herself.

She started to corkscrew her fist around his tip by the time their mouths finally parted, leaving a string of saliva to stretch between each other's lower lip. They both gave a swallow, but then Erika was leaning back in, giving his lower lip a little suck, then a little nibble. She dropped her other hand to his balls, happily fondling them in her palm, smearing what was left of her semen against his undercarriage in the process. She waited until her play drew a grunt from him, then grinned and purred a hungry chortle. She reluctantly slipped her hands away from him, then quietly said "I think you're ready, mister paladin...How do you wanna do it, this time?..." She grinned wider, gave another hungry chuckle, then suggested "Ankles behind my head, maybe? Cowgirl? Ooh, wheelbarrow?"

She winked, then dropped her chin and gave an exaggerated pout, looking up at him with puppy dog eyes. Voice a playful murmur, she added "Or were you just gonna be a big meanie and make me suck it clean, now? Gonna make me lick the spunk off? Getting my hopes up for nothing, how could you!" Luke smiled and, audibly holding back a chuckle at her banter, huskily replied "No, nothing so mean...I was going to be nice to you. I just wanted you on your hands and knees, again." She flashed him a grin. Doggystyle, eh? Judging by the alert swishes her tail flicked left and right, he had piqued her interest. Gracefully gyrating her hips left and right, she raised her hands to her bust and idly teased him, wiping what semen was left on the one hand across a breast before slowly pressing her globes together, gently bringing her perky mounds, each nearly as big as her head, closer against one another to make a feast for his eyes.

She gently bit her lower lip and sucked in a breath, rosary bracelet shifting down her forearm as she unhanded her bust, letting her big blessings bounce back into place. His eyes glazed a little more as he watched her left hand find her pierced nipple, one of those long, carefully manicured fingernails of her's gently flicking her button of a nubbin, a couple times. Then, she gave it a little pinch, a little tweak, a little tug at her barbell, and all the while, her circumcised prick, a meaty, veiny ten inches to rival Luke's own, gave hops and flexes, almost calling attention to the shining trails of semen that had ran down her lean, muscular belly and into her thick, red triangle of pubic hair. Her display was met with the desired effect. At last, she could practically see the lights go off, behind Luke's eyes. He couldn't take it, anymore. Ever seen a paladin turn into a rutting animal? It was definitely a sight.

If she had pressed her luck any further, he might've pushed her into the position, but instead, she played the good girl. She dropped the teasing, the shows, all the displays to torture him. As fun as it was to be the bad girl, as fun as it could've been to try and make him legitimately lose control and force himself onto her, she opted instead to escalate from cock-tease to true slut. She tossed him a wink, puckered up to blow him a quick kiss, then grinned and started to turn around. She dropped down to her hands, then spaced her ankles nice and far apart, giving him plenty of room to get on his own knees behind her. She arched her back to pump her rump out towards him, but before she could say something and tease him even further, she felt the blanket shift as he got up to his feet.

She arched an eyebrow and looked back over her shoulder out of curiosity. Her eyes promptly widened when Luke came over her legs and started to squat down behind her, bringing that giant, white-smeared spear of a cock down closer towards her bubble butt. She started to flush red again, and she couldn't help but give an excited smile. Well, colour her surprised! He wanted to be a bit rougher than last time, eh? With that kind of angle, that kind of momentum behind his thrusts, he'd be veritably railing her! She gave a quick giggle, then breathlessly exclaimed "Y-You wanna pound me? Okay! Go right ahead, big boy! Plow me, ream me out! Make me gape, again!" Luke answered her with a subdued "I'm going to make you cum even harder, this time..."

She grinned. She didn't think that was possible, but hey, it was the thought that counted. She dropped her head closer to the bed to accommodate the new position he was taking, helping to thrust her tush up even higher, to keep her hips steady when he started rocking her with his lap. She let her tail hang back towards her wings, and a second later, his hands were taking her by her shapely hips, keeping her in place. The hot, slippery tip of his meat clumsily pressed in between her cheeks, and she closed her eyes, bit her lip, and drew in a deep breath. The round helmet of his manhood found the ring of her sphincter, that hot, smooth knob slickly pushing against the little folds of her crinkle. When he started to push, they both began groaning.

Erika's every exhale became a grunt or a moan. She raised the side of her face from her pillow and put her chin to it, instead. Eyes closed, brow furrowed at the sensation, she did her best to keep herself relaxed. After that massage he had given her, deep-tissue and otherwise, to limber her up, it wasn't as difficult to remain relaxed as one might've expected, and the cum acting as lube certainly helped grease her hinges. Still, the fact remained that there was a strong size difference between them, and he needed to get some pushing in before her ring was opening up well enough for him to start sliding in. Even then, once her pucker had actually made way for him, Erika was giving a hard groan, eyes briefly screwing shut tight.

It burned, a little. It was a bit sore. God Almighty, it felt good. Once her tough ring of a muscle had opened up into a vise-like pit he could push into, he shivered, sighing her name as he slid his tip in past the crown. Erika's body was tense until the oversized battering ram pressing into her pipes hit her button, and as soon as his thick timber was forcing itself past her muscly bulge, all the tension and stiffness just oozed on out of her body. Not only did her expression relax into one of dreamy satisfaction - eyes half-closed, jaw slack, lips parted a crack - but the pliable relaxation that coursed through her body was punctuated by a nice, sappy string of pre-cum that oozed from the end of her raging hard-on, slowly hanging lower and lower until it beaded and fell to the blanket.

She sightlessly stared into the distance as Luke pushed deeper and deeper. Her heart pounded in her ears as her snug little tailpipe was crammed up further and further in, the tender paladin behind her too worked-up from her teasing to be slow in how he slipped her his salami. By the time he had pushed in a good five out of eleven inches, Erika was feeling packed up, but Luke kept going, groaning to himself, panting. She knew what he was feeling, right then: a lust-boiling ache to bottom out, to hilt her, to fuck her balls-deep before blowing his load inside. A sympathetic tingle crossed her smotheringly big beanbag before another ooze of pre-cum dribbled from her tip, now a lovely off-white shade. She wanted him, bad, but balls-deep seemed like a pipe dream...

He got in another inch, but then faced resistance. Erika gave a harsh groan, sweat droplets slowly running across her back as she breathed "Mercy...You're gonna ruin my ass!..." Luke, breathing heavy, paused, then tried pushing in, a little more. Her eyes closed a little tighter as she gave another groan, higher-pitched, this time around. Her big balls slowly drew up in her beanbag before she was mumbling "Mercy...Please..." The plea reached Luke. He let go of one of her hips, gently put his hand under her tail, and swept it up towards her tip, guiding the spaded end towards his mouth. She felt his lips press against the flat of her spaded tip, and then he was reassuringly murmuring "I'd never hurt you, I promise..."

Her body uncontrollably gave a little shiver. When he let go of her tail, it slowly hung back towards her wings, numbly getting itself out of the way. He took her by the hip again, and then, without saying a word, he started to pull his hips back, sliding his greased manhood back out through her snug glove of a tailpipe, withdrawing for several inches before pushing back in. Erika gave a high moan, then turned her head back down and rested the side of her face against her pillow. She gently shifted one knee to the side, then the other in the opposite direction, slightly widening the gap between her legs to better feel the pipe-stuffing going on, high between them. When Luke groaned and drew back out, Erika gave a long, steamy sigh, body going limp as she resigned herself to relaxing, to enjoying the dicking she so badly had coming.

The more Luke thrust against her, the more she was stretched out. The looser she became, the easier it became to move, to speed up, to maintain repeated deep thrusts without discomfort on either side of the affair. Erika could do little besides sit there on her knees, shoulders down to the bed, cheek to her pillow, arms limply draped downwards towards her legs, muscles like jelly as her strong lover had his way with her cushiony tush, making love to her rear door, firmly feeding her his meat in pump after pump. He was no easier to take this second time around, he still felt so big that someone could've been fisting her poor tush, and it didn't help that this position let him slam into her like the wanton slut she was. She had a pillowy ass, and it gave her more than enough of a buffer for some hard pokes, right?

Still, he was never brutal, even when the euphoria made her change her mind on whether or not he could bottom out. Time lost all meaning, for Erika. The only reason for existing became his cock, her ass, the hot grinding between them, the pleasure erupting through her, the slow, constant ooze running through her crotch, and enjoying it while it lasted. The first time he slowed down, she cooed, she whimpered, she trembled. He groaned in ecstasy as he throttled back, edging, not wanting to pop too early, wanting to savour her tight ass as long as he could. As her hole milked him, so too did he milk her, the big man intentionally grinding the length of his shaft against her prostate on every slide, relentlessly working her button with his battering ram just like he had the first time they had made love.

When he started to corkscrew, to grind his hips around, she groaned, hard. God, not that, don't stir her around, inside! She tilted her head back against her pillow, helplessly raising her chin as she grit her teeth, thighs quaking as she curled her toes. Luke groaned, briefly hanging his head back, too, as he resumed straightforward thrusting, rocking Erika's hips as his length slid back and forth between those thick cheeks of her's. Slowly, almost unbeknownst to the both of them, Luke started to slide deeper. Neither of them really noticed thanks to how the resistance had faded away, but seven inches went in, then almost eight...

Erika's mind started to wipe as the plumbing scooping out her void intensified, the noisy wet sounds of the sodomy quickening as Luke ramped up his thrusting. So deep...She helplessly fell into a little anal orgasm, ass clenching as hard as it could without getting uncomfortably tight, flexing in sporadic hugs down on his manhood. She gave a few sharp gasps for air, face flushing a deep red as she shut her eyes tight. Her painfully rigid manhood kept waving and jumping underneath herself from the recoil of Luke's deep thrusts, but then, it gave a little flex, and white droplets started to rapidly drizzle out of it, sprinkling to the blanket below in staining circles of ivory. He never stopped thrusting, and she never asked him to. Just one little climax, no need to stop the party! She wasn't done, yet!

"Oh, God! Fuck me! Fuck my ass!"

He moaned appreciatively as he pumped through her climax, feeling the way her girly hole stopped flexing amidst trembles, her overflowing prostate relaxing back down to a more subtle, yet still thoroughly noticeable, lump. Once she had ridden down her high, she exhaled a long, quaking moan, then slowly drew in a deep breath between clenched teeth. She wanted more. When Luke moved to take a new position, she couldn't do anything besides go along with his motions. He stopped thrusting, but never pulled out. He dropped to his left knee, then slipped his left hand under her left thigh, lifting her leg up by his side until he could glide his hand under her knee and support her, opening her up for his thrusts. When he resumed moving, the new position had her tightening up for a minute, but then she was relaxing again, slowly groaning in satisfaction.

Now, not only was her cock spinning circles in the air and stirring the space under her lap, but her overflowing balls were bouncing around as well, her big, heavy, tight-packed beanbag swinging and swaying, almost sloshing with the condensed power, the reservoir, of a rutting incubus. Luke's breathing started to get louder. Erika could feel the frothy remnants of her spunk-lube collecting against her ring, and although she were still oh so ooey-gooey inside, the sensation were still enough to make her blush. She could feel the heat filling her ass intensifying, and the throbbing pulses flooding her void were coming faster, now. When something made brief contact with her cheeks, she sucked in a gasp, opened her eyes, and tried to clench.

His lap started to pat her cheeks on every thrust in, pressing against her more and more firmly. Within seconds, his hips were slapping her cheeks hard enough to send little ripples across her ass. Slowly, a pressure started to build up inside her stomach, and the harder his lap collided with her bubble butt, the greater the pressure became. He...Must've been plumbing her colon, by then. When he had gone deeper?! Her eyes started to roll back into her skull. Drool had already started to trickle from the corner of her mouth and down to her pillow. He gave a couple ecstatic gasps when the base of his cock finally started hitting her ring.

He had bottomed out. Finally, for the first time, he had bottomed out. He had fucked her loose enough to get in all eleven thick inches. His balls slapped her's, but it didn't last long before both pairs began to draw up.

Voice low and ragged, Luke exclaimed "I'm finally all in!..."

Erika simply gasped like a fish out of water, mouth a mindless "0," eyelids flickering, eyelashes fluttering.

Luke's breathing turned a hint amused. Without thinking, he let go of her hip and slapped her ass, giving her a hard enough spank to a cheek that it gave a clap, putting a faint red hand print across her creamy skin. He never stopped thrusting, but shortened his pumps until he were humping her, keeping himself as deep up her ass as possible. He leaned over her a little, bringing his head closer to her's. His voice considerably more calm, he quietly instructed "Now...Why don't you say my name?"

The statement was too much for poor little Erika. Those words so thoroughly encapsulated the spirit of the sex, of the role reversal she had guiltily craved, that hearing them spoken aloud turned her face such a vibrant scarlet, even her ears went crimson. Her eyelids flickered shut, even as tears trickled from the corners of her eyes.

"Say my name so I can cum!"

Her body was already tightening up, but still, she managed to give him the answer he needed, the answer his statement deserved, no, required, that ultimate submission to prove her place in this dynamic.

Voice high, she half whimpered, half squeaked, barely audible in her breathlessness. "L-Luke! It's Luke!"

He gave a shuddering groan at the rush her admission provided. He lengthened his thrusts, again, and started thrusting even harder, crushing his lap against her ass, recoiling her hips on every hard slam home. Erika's body wound up tighter and tighter like a coiled spring until, at last, the grinding friction pummelling her poor ass got the best of her.

"Oh, fuck, Luke!!"

Her cock gave a hard flex, turned a shade more red, and started to pour, explosively squirting and geysering like only an incubus could. She didn't even think to jerk herself off, enduring the orgasm hands-free as her lover kept dominating her thick ass. Lance after lance chaotically fired free from her rigid length, tensing her cum-vein on every squirt, each marked by a tight flex that sent the cum splattering here and there, alabaster rope after rope hitting the blanket in a sticky wet spot of increasingly embarrassing proportions. Erika cried out in ecstasy, flexing her ass to uncomfortable degrees, helplessly crushing her prostate against her man's cock as he fucked the spunk right out of her.

Luke couldn't feel her anal orgasm rock through her body for much longer than a few moments before he was finishing up, too. With a harsh groan from Luke, the heat inside her depths bloomed, colliding somewhere deep inside, jet after jet of holy seed flooding her void in a wanton display of love, of lust. His thrusts sharply slowed down, and Erika could only moan, could only let her voice be heard like a well-bred bitch as her man finished having his way with her fat tush. A tremble coursed up her tail as the flow of baby-batter running from her cock slowed to a syrupy trickle, but when Luke refused to pull out straight away and instead gave her ass some hard, deep, grinding humps to get out the last few drops of his own orgasm, her cock couldn't help but tense and hop around. One last milky droplet collected over her tip, sat there for a few moments, then finally fell.

Finally, the two of them panting, he started to withdraw. It took a few moments for him to slowly slide that big doorstopper of his all the way back out of her flexing catacombs, but eventually, his flared tip fell free from her busted-in pucker, leaving behind a red, gaping pit shaped to his shaft, a dark, round hole that offered a few pitiful flexes, but no more. He gave a steamy sigh of satisfaction at the sight, but then he was resting her leg back down against the bed. She promptly collapsed down into the bed over her own creamy wet spot, breathing hard as she laid on her front and tried to catch her breath. She felt the ground vibrate when he dropped to the bed just next to her, rolling over onto his back as he caught his breath.

It took a couple minutes, but eventually, she was turning her head and flipping to the other cheek, against her pillow. She gave a wide smile, an almost-grin, as she reached a hand up, clearing some sweat-dampened locks from her forehead. She purred, holding back a chuckle as she bit her lip and grinned, watching the way his glistening body shifted with each breath. With open enthusiasm, she remarked "Mmm, that was great, soldier boy. You really let me have it, I can't even feel my legs." He turned his head to look at her, a somewhat remorseful look coming over him. His breathing well enough under control that he no longer needed to pant, he considered his words for a couple seconds, then slowly, ruefully mumbled "So, uh...Does that mean I wasn't too harsh, at the end? Because, I'm starting to feel kind of bad about that..."

She lost her smile, raising her eyebrows high. His expression didn't shift. He wasn't joking. She dropped her eyebrows back down and smiled wide, one corner of her mouth higher than the other. "You mean the fucking, or the roleplay? Either way, not too rough. It was exactly what I was looking for!" He didn't look all that reassured, and simply kept on watching her with a somewhat apologetic grimace. She gave him a quick grin, exhaling a bit of a groan as she slid her arms up, slipped her hands under her pillow, and nuzzled it a bit closer against the side of her face. Contentedly, she murmured "Mm, that was exactly what I needed. Making me say your name, at the end? Cherry on top, big guy. Surprised the hell outta me. Popped my cork, hard."

At that, Erika stuck a finger into her mouth, pulled at the corner of her mouth, and quickly slipped her digit free to make a sharp popping sound for emphasis. The tension left his face, and he began smiling, again. "Well, alright, then. If you say so," he murmured, more confidently. She threw him another quick grin, holding back a chuckle. Idly speaking her mind, she glanced off to the side as she remarked "You know, I've fooled around a lot of different ways, but I honestly can't remember if I've ever let someone really take charge of me, like that. Sure, I've found plenty of victims who had kinks for domination, but I never actually let them do it to me. Kinda hard to when I'm naturally controlling them and calling all the shots."

She arched an eyebrow, looked upwards in thought, and lost her smiles, her grins. He watched her for a couple seconds until she looked back down to his eyes, a placid smile brightening her face, her eyes closing to sultry slits. "I guess there was something new I could give to you, after all," she calmly murmured. "Even after all this time, I still had something set aside. Huh. Whaddya know." He started smiling from ear to ear. She gave him another grin, then purred "You did great." He rolled over onto his side, getting close enough to her that he could crane his neck and press a smooch to her forehead. Quietly, he asked "Not feeling so bad, anymore?..."

She watched him, for a moment. He gave her a warm smile, waited a moment, then murmured "I know what you meant, when this all started. When you said you noticed you were always pushing me around in bed, you were downplaying it, but I know you were starting to feel guilty." Her smile slowly withered, but he didn't wait long to raise his eyebrows and earnestly add "Don't. Erika, trust me, there wasn't some mistake or mix-up. The way we are together, it's good. You've never done anything I legitimately didn't want. We've always had that kind of natural chemistry. I don't mind how you're aggressive. I like it." He reached out, ruffled his fingers through her hair, and teasingly remarked "I had to get worked up to dominating you. It was, uh...It was fun, definitely fun, that's for sure. But I don't know if I could do it all the time without feeling bad. That's not really me. I like how confident you are."

She slowly started to grin, again. Voice soft, she gave a wink and a hum, mumbling "Mmm, I suppose you're right...The kinks I saw in your head show a subby side. Well, good, then!" She gave a slow exhale, a groan that didn't quite make it. She rolled over onto her side towards him, then fell to her back against him, resting under him. Looking up at him, the big man keeping over his side, she lost her smile, a more open look coming to her face. Quietly, she admitted the truth, trying not to mumble as she said "...After what you told me, last night, I started to think about everything we've done and said to each other, ever since we first met. When I thought about all the times I pushed you around in bed, or the bets and the games...I don't know, it got to me. Sometimes it wasn't always squeaky-clean and innocent, you know. I guess...I don't know. Seems a little silly in hindsight."

She gave a little shrug, then added "Guess I wanted to give you a chance to dominate me, too. Get even, or something." She slowly started to smile, then remarked "...But, if you say it was all good fun, then I guess we're already even." He hummed a chuckle, half-closed eyes watching her's. He leaned down and gave her a kiss, and as he lifted his head back up, she smiled from ear to ear, desperately trying not to grin as she remarked "Next time you dom my ass, I wanna be lying down on my front with my cock tucked back. That way, when I cum, I fire it down between my legs like a helpless butt-slut. How's that sound? Nice and subby, right? Tucking the cock back always sounded so subby, to me."

He raised his eyebrows, a little incredulously asking "You wanna do this again?" She grinned so wide her eyes went half-closed, a cheery laugh bubbling up out of her chest. "Well, not right now," she loudly remarked. A big, bright smile on her face, she tilted her head towards him a little, then matter-of-factly purred "But, yeah. At some point. This was fun. We'll save the roleplay for special occasions, or something. Don't want to overdo it and make it stale." Her smile took on a mischievous twist. Voice lowering, she added "In the meantime, we'll continue the standard state of affairs, as in, I'm gonna push you around and make you do anything and everything I want, you big cuddly bear. You're my sex slave."

He hummed a reluctant, croaking groan, making her grin and giggle, again. A couple moments passed in silence, their eyes never straying from each other's. Her grin steadily fell back to a big smile, then a cute little smirk, one corner of her mouth barely raised as she placidly watched his eyes, occasionally looking back and forth between the deep cyan of either one. Nothing else mattered, so long as he was with her. Lightly, she murmured "...I love you. I don't ever wanna say goodbye, Luke." That little smirk of her's faded. "No matter what happens, I don't want to lose you. I don't want you to have to lose me, again."

Luke lost his smile, too. A moment later, however, it suddenly started coming back. "...You won't," he simply murmured back. He dropped his head again, his lips only lightly touching her's in a few soft kisses. As he raised his head back up, he quietly added "You'll always have me. I love you, too." She started to smile, again. She wanted to be optimistic, and so, she chose to allow his confidence to be contagious. A bit of a blase tone to her, she mumbled "Besides Balthazar, what else could be out there to try and kill us? We've already fought off one demon, what's one more?..."

She closed her eyes and turned her head towards him a little more, brushing her nose close to his shoulder. "Then I'll be out, at least for a while," she murmured, "and nobody'll come after you, anymore, either..." Luke protectively brought an arm to her far side, raising his hand to the side of her head. His fingers sinking into her hair, his thumb by her ear, he kissed her temple, then murmured "We'll be okay." When she moved to wrap her arms around him, he let her, taking her into his, in turn.

In the background, the bonfire crackled and popped, and that forgotten stew kept simmering, sizzling in anticipation of Luke's return. He was slow to come. For now, he and his lover needed each other's touch. Hell wasn't going to let her off the hook quite that easily.

~~End of Ch. 10~~

Chapter 11: Burn to Live

Chapter Text

Incubus Erika

Part III ‑ "Wingless"

By: Jesse Racine AKA Samson

Original Date Written: April 5, 2017

Erika and Luke did their best to enjoy the rest of their evening and night, but the two of them both had their own concerns to grapple with. At first, Erika had found it to be a bit of a relief, thinking that only Balthazar lay on the horizon. Once the initial optimism had worn off, however, the thought that her overseer sat squarely between her and freedom from Hell's pursuit became more and more daunting. If there was ever any one person or thing she would've begged not to have to contend with, it would've been Balthazar.

On top of that, he wouldn't even really be the end, in truth. It was a comforting thought, and so Erika clung to it for simplicity's sake, but she knew he wouldn't legitimately be the finish line. He presented the end of this initial struggle, certainly, but Luke was right: this would never end. Even assuming the two of them killed Balthazar, the scale of escalation was never-ending. Running wasn't much of an option, either.

That's what concerned Luke, when all was said and done. Erika couldn't simply flee forever, and he couldn't always be there to help her do so. It hadn't been his goal to be on the run forevermore, and he didn't yet know if the conclusion staring him in the face had even occurred to Erika. In strictly utilitarian terms, if she wanted to escape the pursuit of the netherworld, there was no safer place she could go to, no place that would render her more untouchable, than paradise, itself. Sadly, there was more to Heaven than a convenient escape route, and he didn't think framing it that way would even sway Erika, anyway. With Anderson's death, it would only be a matter of time until the Blessed Order attempted to investigate and ultimately connected it to Luke, thereby doubling the attention in Erika's direction.

The hourglass on their relationship was starting to empty faster, and the both of them could feel it. Luke had presented the question to Erika on more than one occasion, and it was up to her to consider how to answer: did she truly believe she deserved something better, when all was said and done? If only the reply were as easy to formulate. Going from the hatred and condemnation of her home village to hearing that there were regrets on both sides of the equation, going from nearly a century as a member of the sexual caste in Hell to reuniting with the one person who had cared more than anyone...Going from feeling so abandoned by God to hearing His answer for what had happened, and seeing that He had at least made an effort to make amends and guide her somewhere better. Above all, going from a sedentary state of mind, a locked, timeworn routine, doing what was required of her by her penance, her demonhood, to listening to a paladin, to praying, to falling in love.

Luke had always thought she deserved something better. Sounded like others from her hometown did, too. In the end, even God hadn't written her off. That Hell hadn't been her original destination had always been a bitter truth that Erika had had to live with, and for the longest time, she thought she had made peace with that, at least well enough to sleep soundly. She had been cheated out of paradise, but even something that grand couldn't occupy one's mind forever. Life went on, and nothing truly hurt forever, if one had a mind to move on. Still, the question lingered: what would hurt more, staying in Hell or accepting Heaven?

Erika awoke considerably earlier than Luke did, the afternoon following Anderson's death. She wasn't jolted awake by any nightmare, but perhaps her growing sense of anxiety had occupied her mind well enough that dreams were little more than sour medicine. She rolled over a couple times and tried to fall back asleep, but she was quick to change her mind. She considered staying in bed and simply waiting for Luke to awaken, but she felt too restless under the blankets and fretted that she might disturb him. As gently as she could, she silently slipped out from under the covers, then slunk out of the tent, closing her eyes under the sunlight, sighing as she shook her hands through her hair. Not a great way to start the morning, but not much could be done if one's sleep simply decided not to cooperate.

Erika aimlessly shuffled her way over to the bonfire, still nude besides the mock modesty her bracelet and collar provided, and dropped herself into her usual chair at the then-dead bonfire. It was a quiet afternoon, that day...Nary a breeze, not a bird in the trees nor insects in the distance. With the bonfire out, that left Erika in an undeniably oppressive silence. She tried not to pay attention to it, tried to settle in, tried waiting for Luke to wake up, but time and again, she found herself considering the uncomfortable dilemma facing her. She needed to think ahead, consider what was to come. She couldn't run forever. Even if, by some miracle, she and Luke were able to defeat Balthazar, he could've just kept coming after them. Even if he were properly exorcised and were locked to the netherworld for a time, he wouldn't be bound forever, and the more waves she made by resisting, the worse it'd get.

If she were still on her own, maybe this wouldn't have seemed like such a dire situation, but she had Luke to consider, now. Face cool, eyes half-open, she sank back into her chair, staring off into the distance. The part of her that wanted to think ahead was a minority. The rest of her wanted to block it out, to tune out the inevitability of it all. She didn't imagine a sunrise on the horizon, in this situation. Why dwell on it when it'll come, regardless? Why bother thinking ahead if there's no way out? She let out a long, deep sigh, wearily closing her eyes as she raised a hand to her forehead, putting her elbow to her armrest before leaning into it. She cared about what happened to herself, of course. She was in no way ready to resign herself to being stripped back down to a punished soul. If she was going down, it wasn't without a fight.

Still, she cared more about what happened to Luke. By all accounts, he was set. If he died, he'd be going back to Heaven, no questions asked. Provided he wasn't somehow corrupted, which she didn't think Balthazar was going to bother attempting at this point, then he was going back to paradise. That could've maintained her sanity in the pits, but the thought that her fate would wound him, possibly irreparably, was wounding to Erika, in and of itself. She curled her fingers into a fist over her forehead, opened her eyes, and drew in a breath through her nose as she propped her chin over her knuckles. Her eyes slowly shifted about at the scenery. This relationship of their's had started as nothing but contests, and when she considered the stakes she had initially thrust upon him, it sank her heart.

She had tried so hard to push him away or destroy him, and berated him for cheating in his attempts to save her. She had done everything she could to ruin what had been, in the end, the most selfless gesture anyone had ever made in her favour. Look at where they stood now, hmm? The question had lingered unspoken between them ever since he had exposed his true nature to her, but contrary to what he thought, Erika had been far from blind to it. He had laid his cards on the table, and thereby presented her with a choice: did she or did she not want to accompany him back to Heaven? Whatever the next step in his purification process was, he hadn't attempted to force it onto her. It was up to her to choose. She needed to want it. It wasn't enough to know she had deserved it, it was really believing that she should still get it, and...

Her eyes eased half-closed. They turned downward and gave a throb, then moistened.

...It was about whether or not she wanted to face the pain of forgiveness, both giving and receiving, or whether that was asking too much of her, whether or not she was willing to change her mind on beliefs that had rooted so deep they may as well be facts. Bottle it up and implode, or let it go, let it out to spill? Could she forgive what had happened to her, or were the flames preferable? Strictly speaking, withholding forgiveness now felt petty, all things considered. She could admit that much, at least. Considering what'd inevitably happen to her should she not, considering the pain she'd put Luke through, rejecting Heaven seemed like cutting off her nose just to spite her face. In the end, nothing good would come of it. All she'd be doing is answering the pain she had been put through with more pain, in return. Still...It wasn't an easy prospect. Nearly one hundred years of this...That's a long time to make a lot of mistakes.

She barely exhaled through her nose, closing her eyes. She shifted her hand back up and pinched the bridge of her nose, then rubbed her fingerprints back and forth just above her eyebrows. Somewhat bitterly, she thought to herself about how much simpler her life could've been if Luke had just stayed out of it. She had gotten along fine. Skewed, but fine, right? She started to crack a smile, and after she gave a quiet chuckle, she took a sniffle. No, she didn't mean that. Simple didn't equate to enjoyable, fulfilling, or nurturing. It only meant safety, and in this case, it meant safely bound. With a bit of a groan, she pulled herself up from her chair, idly eyeing the pot of stew Luke had left hanging over the scorched remains of the previous night's bonfire.

Her lips shifted, a little. Her eyes uncertainly moved across the pot's black surface. Her brow knit, but a second later, she was moving for Luke's ladle. The sharp points of her heels lightly sinking into the dirt with every step, she cocked out a hip as she came up to the pot and reached out, pinched the cool metal handle between two fingers, and pulled the lid off. She gave the cold contents a look, then leaned in closer and took a sniff. She raised her eyebrows. Not bad, not bad at all. She had gotten pretty used to the scents of stews and soups while hanging around with Luke, and she had to say, this one smelled a little zestier than usual. Must've been those spices he had tossed in. He had mentioned they were new, after all.

Of course, it smelled better than it looked. Funny how almost a full century of not bothering with food would wind up making one critical. It was a brownish, amber fluid full of chunks of varying colours, ranging from brown meat and white potatoes to orange carrots and red sweet peppers. She crinkled her nose, looking mightily unimpressed as she poked the ladle inside and gave the contents a bit of a swish, testing the broth to substance ratio. She knew Luke liked his stews hearty, so she wasn't too surprised to find the ratio leaning hard on the substance side, especially the potato and meat pieces. Glutton for nourishment, that paladin was. She smirked. Lots of protein in his diet these days, too, she inwardly joked.

She lost her smirk, then mumbled aloud "...Oh, what the hell." She dipped the ladle in further, watching the broth swell over the edge and into the basin, followed promptly by solid bits. Why the anxiety? Just another long-held pattern to be broken, she supposed. Pile it up with the rest. She stuck her free hand underneath the ladle to catch stray droplets, then carefully eased the wooden spoon over to her lips. The scent became stronger just before she sucked in some of the broth, and as soon as it touched her tongue, the explosion of flavour made her shut her eyes. Tears stung, her face twisted up, and she couldn't help but smile, to even breathlessly chortle. Was it just her, or were the spices a little strong?

By God...When had the last time been, again? Not even a full year after her return to the mortal realm, she had stopped eating mortal foods, even consuming drinks. There had simply been no point. She didn't need them anymore, and abandoning that relic of mortality, of humanity, had helped to comfortingly distance her from what had been taken from her. The first and last things she had consumed had been glasses of wine, and just the memory had her chuckling, again. She sipped some more broth from the ladle, trying not to let teardrops trickle down her cheeks. She had remembered...Her parents had never let her touch wine. She had been too young at the time, they said. Then, she hadn't had the time to wait, anymore.

She found herself able to do whatever she wanted, but it had been bittersweet. Upon that first sip of stolen wine, she had broken down into tears. The freedom had been overwhelming, and it had still been too early after her reincarnation for her to ignore the recollection. She had still been young. No parents to guide her. No older brother or sister to watch out for her. Nobody there to help her or fix her mistakes. Nobody there to protect her or shelter her. Alone...Free, eternally free to go and do as she pleased in the whole wide world, but alone, never able to return home. How could she possibly expose her new form to anyone who had used to know her? Still, she had tried. A single visit to Canders had been fruitless. Only strangers had seen her, fated to reduce her to whispered gossip: the demon who had tried to sneak into the village, rather than the lost soul trying to reconnect with an old home.

She got one of the potato pieces between her front teeth, slid through, and bit half of it off. She sniffled as she chewed, taking in everything she could, everything she had missed: texture, consistency, flavour, scent, that mushy feeling of spreading it across her palate...It had been so long since her tongue had been put to use for anything that wasn't carnal. By the time she had had that final glass of wine, she had hardened, some. Matured a little, even. The glass was more symbolic than anything else, her final send-off before she stopped bothering, entirely. Monsters from Hell didn't need food or drink, after all. Life force was her nourishment, and victims provided it, the women she felt inexorably drawn towards as a demon in the sexual caste. That was her existence: prey, toy, sustain, sleep it off, do it all over again.

Not so bad, if you didn't know or think about what you were missing. At least you weren't in the pits. At least you were free. At least you were alive, again. At least you could have fun. Considering the alternative, it's a godsend, truly. She gave one last sniffle, then got a piece of meat in her mouth, then a red pepper slice. Why had it taken her so long to try Luke's cooking?...Why had she been so stubborn about it? She could've just tried it. But then, if she had...She would've been forced to feel this sensation more often, face the recollection, the wisps of memories at the back of her mind.

Was it worth it? Cutting the scars back open, just to remember where the wounds had been? Call it self-indulgent masochism, but she wasn't sure, anymore. She plucked away at the substance of the ladle until she had reduced it to the point where she could pour the rest into her mouth. She downed it, then replaced the pot's lid and ladle where they belonged. If Luke asked, she'd admit the truth, but she didn't see the need in preemptively admitting she had finally caved. After the fuss she had put up, admitting to even a taste-test might be rough. Stubborn to a fault, she was. Stubborn and proud, even when it hurt her.

She turned her head, shifted her eyes. Luke's shrine sat where it always was, with a midnight breeze having blown dried leaves into it. Erika pulled a bit of a face, puckering her lips off to the side. After a moment, she walked over and, with a slow exhale through her nose, started cleaning the shrine, carefully sweeping away dead leaves from under the table, plucking them from between the candles and behind the incense sticks. She stood there for a few seconds, once the job was done. She glanced up at the wall of the tent. No movement inside, not even a sound. She looked back down at the shrine's crucifix. She glanced off to the side, raising a hand, running her fingers through her bangs. She looked back at the crucifix and, after a moment, slowly began to kneel.

Sitting on her knees, behind to her heels, she laid her hands over her thighs and let her eyes roam across the table's trappings, the little accessories of faith that Luke had spread about. Eventually, her eyes turned downwards, finding the rosary about her wrist. She turned her palm skyward, finding the portrait of Mother Mary in the metal chip. Eyes half-closed, she brought her right hand over, running her fingerprints across the brown, almond-shaped beads, feeling them shift against her wrist. She eventually looked back up at the shrine, a tired look slowly overcoming her face. She never closed her eyes or joined her hands, but she began speaking in her mind. Somebody out there was clearly the intended listener. If He lent her His ear, He'd get plenty.

"...It's Erika. I don't know if you're listening, but I hope you are. I know everything. I'm sure you already know this, but Luke's told me everything. I know we knew each other, when we were mortal. I know he went to Heaven. I know he feels partly responsible for what happened. I know what he's gone through to try and get through to me. I'm still fuzzy on who wanted to save me first, him or you, but according to him, both of you agreed...And he said..."

Erika's eyes started to throb, to well up with stings.

"...He said that everyone regrets what happened to me, that they didn't know what they were doing. I believe it. I believe it, you know. How could they have? I'll bet they were almost as surprised as I was. Does...Does my family really miss me? Anthony, Cassandra, mom, dad...Do they really still even care, after all this time? After all the things I've done...They still feel sorry, for me? Scratch that...No, scratch that scratching. I want to say that I haven't done anything wrong over the years, but I know that that's not true."

She raised a hand and wiped at her eyes, giving a sniffle.

"I think I understand what you were trying to do, now. It was stupid, but Luke makes it sound like your heart was in the right place. You were trying to make everyone happy and give everyone what they wanted, and you knew that your mistakes would fix themselves in the end, and...I don't know, everyone would see where they went wrong, I guess. But look at what you did to me, in the process. Look at the things I've done, because of it. Nearly one hundred years, man. For me, for Luke, for my family, for the people in Canders, assuming they really do feel sorry...Nearly a hundred years. And for what?...Was it worth it? Even if I go along with Luke's plan and go to Heaven, I'm not going to forget the time I've spent like this. By trying to make everyone happy, you made a lot of people miserable."

She opened her eyes partway, watching the dead wicks of candles over the shrine.

"...But, Luke has a point. There's two ways to look at what you've done, since then. You could've done nothing at all, and for the longest time, it sure seemed like that's what was happening. Suppose that was Luke's fault and not your's, though, huh? You could've proven me right and just abandoned me, forever...But, you didn't. You went to Luke once he died and formed a plan. You reincarnated him as a new mortal and...He says you guided him, but I don't know if he means it literally or figuratively. You tried to do something to guide me where I had always belonged...I have to recognize that. I could write it off as too little too late, but where Luke's concerned, that just isn't the case. He's done so much...Too much. For one guy to care this badly..."

A noise stirred inside the tent. Erika's eyes rose to the blue cloth wall, behind the shrine.

"...If there's one thing I can say with absolute certainty, it's that I respect what he's gone through, for me. I respect it, and I'm just sorry he ever had to. He's gone above and beyond what any normal person would've done, or even what a normal angel probably would've done, to save me. He really means it when he says he loves me, and I've never been more sure of anything like I'm sure that I mean it, too. I don't really care what happens to me, so long as he stays safe. I mean, I'm in no rush to go back to Hell, but as long as Luke was okay, I could hold out, so...I want to ask you, really ask you, to watch over him. Don't let Balthazar take him. Seriously. Please...Thank you."

She drew in a deep breath, rising to her feet all the while. God could value her prayer however He deemed appropriate. She was done. She walked over in front of the tent, then leaned over far to peek inside. Luke was lying on his side, facing her old spot. A moment later, he eased to his back, raised his head a bit, and noticed her right as she put on a smile. He smiled back, but before he could say anything, she was stepping into the tent, going for her pile of clothing. "Hey, good morning," she offered, rather warmly. "Don't mind me, I was just about to stop by my old lair. Wanna give it one last once-over before I think about scouting out a new one. I should only be a minute."

He gave her a somewhat amused smile. Eyes barely open with sleep, he groaned "What, no fooling around, this morning?..." She flashed him a grin. Catching a chuckle in her throat, she nonchalantly teased "Aw, feeling horny, this morning? What am I ever gonna do with you, huh? I'm not a slab of meat, y'know!" He groaned, then dropped his head back down to his pillow. She snickered. Thoroughly deflated was the paladin, a complete victory in the Erika corner. As she sifted through their various articles of clothing, she decided to get creative, mixing and matching until she had something new. She pulled on her undersized latex thong, ensuring her soft manhood was securely tucked into that tiny triangle of shiny material before pulling the string up tight between her cheeks, giving the waistband a nice snap at her hips.

Then, she was pulling her pleated black skirt on, followed by her black latex boots, cinching the near crotch-high material tight, leaving her skirt to cover whatever skin might've been visible. Then, she was pulling on that new corset she had grabbed, the previous night. A rich, girly pink bordered with black, the cups weren't much more than a thin, sweeping layer of white silk with a ruffled hem, and once Erika had ensure the curtain was pulled up nice and high over the girls, she spent a minute reaching back to lace up the corset, getting a nice fit to show off her waist and hips. Forgoing anything else, she strode off into the forest and made her way out to her sorry excuse for a lair.

As she stepped down into the dry air of the cavern, she tried in vain to keep the scent of burnt oil from stinging her nostrils. With a bored sigh, she came to a stop at the mouth of her den's exit, slowly peering about the interior. Moving from home to home every few weeks meant she needed to live light, austere. Whatever few belongings she felt entitled to keeping had to either be essentials she couldn't live without, or had some sort of personal value to her. After all this time, the little she had maintained as possessions had become investments in time and feeling. Even something as simple as her old makeup case had become sentimental...And none of it had survived the oil fire. Slate wiped clean. The deja vu was uncomfortably fierce.

She drew in a deep breath through her nose, ignoring the scent in the air, expression cool as she sighed it back out. She crossed her arms beneath her bust, looking to the left. The corner where she had kept her bed had been reduced to a mass of charred lumps, shards, and hunks. That chair and stool she had used while painting her nails didn't even exist anymore, joining the thick layer of ashes and soot coating the cave floor. The small crate she had kept her clothing and cosmetics in had collapsed halfway inward, exposing an interior filled with nothing but ash and half-burned scraps. She looked to the other side of the cave. A hint of disappointment crossed her eyes, her lips barely shifting into a little frown.

That nice China vase she had taken, some fifty years back, had deformed and cracked under the heat. She had always used to put flowers in there, but she didn't even know why. Not like flowers were meant for a vase of that kind of artistic quality, but she supposed she had just started doing it one day, then let it become a habit. Perhaps she had felt it had added a more ordinary touch to her many abnormal homes, but who could say. Her eyes shifted to the wooden table and stool she had always let accompany her portcullis, both reduced to little more than black bits.

Amidst them all, her portcullis sat, not even so much as a single blemish upon the volcanic stone surface. She watched the object's face for a few seconds, and when a small flame, little more than a candle's plume, ignited between the twin prongs, she began walking over. Right on time. Just like she suspected, Balthazar wouldn't be able to pass up the opportunity to have some words. As the flame expanded and spread to either side of the "V" acting as the object's face, it rippled like simmering water, exposing a hole between the realms. Peering through was the unmistakable dog-like visage of her overseer, looking decidedly...Bored. He wasn't snarling. He wasn't shouting at her, the instant he saw her. He didn't even look like he was so much as clenching his jaw.

Erika didn't say anything as she stepped over some charred wood chunks, leaned over, and pushed aside some detritus until her hand could find the portcullis' rounded base. She took the stem between her fingers, then lifted it up like a mirror, holding it at arm's length, face-level. Balthazar just stared at her from underneath the solid face plate of his obsidian helm, sightlessly watching her. Finally, after a couple seconds, he barely raised his chin, then spoke.

"Why am I not surprised to see you?"

He didn't sound any angrier than he looked. Given his infamous temper, she couldn't be sure if he was either legitimately tired of her, or if he were beyond infuriated and had to work to keep it in check. Something told her it was the former. She wasn't even angry with him, either. What would be the point? They both knew what was coming, what would happen. This wasn't exactly a personal matter between them, after all. It was his responsibility to keep her in check, and she had strayed. It was business.

A calm, cool, almost weary look to her, she simply answered "I could say the same thing. I had a funny feeling you'd reach through, once you felt I was here."

He barely tilted his head to the side, just a hint. He quietly watched her for a moment, studying her. Head going back up straight, he stated "I've been more than patient with you. I gave you more chances than I should've, and you still didn't work out. Hell gave everything you ever wanted. You made a fair trade to get yourself out of your punishment. You were alive again, you were free, and you could do as thou wilt. All you had to do was one simple job, and follow one simple rule." Adopting a tone of weary belittlement, he added "Heaven will never have you, you realize that, don't you? After all the sins you've committed in Hell's service, after all the rapes, do you really think they'll just let you wander on in? You killed His soldiers, tore them away from Him. You had your way with His children. This is His revenge, and you've walked right into it." He slowly shook his head. "The Lord loves a sucker."

Erika barely raised her eyebrows. Eyes half-closed, she retorted "I know what Luke really is, Balthazar. I'm sure you figured it out a long time ago, but guess what? None of the threats, none of the pressure, made me kill him. I care about him more than I'm scared of you. I still have somebody who wants to see me in Heaven, and even if this was some kind of trap, I didn't do this for, or because of, God. I did it for Luke. It matters more to me that somebody actually still cared, it matters more to me that somebody agreed that what had happened to me was wrong, than actually getting into Heaven or making up with God. Even if God turns on me again, Luke won't. And even though I've done a lot of bad things ever since I died, if Luke forgives me, then that's good enough for me. God and I will talk it over, if I ever see Him."

Her brow barely knit. "This is the last time we're going to talk," she simply added.

Balthazar didn't seem surprised, or indeed, even particularly bothered by the response. Instead, with a hint of finality, he casually stated "I'll be seeing you soon."

The portal of flame inside the portcullis disappeared with a pop. Erika's blood ran cold. That was it, then. He wouldn't be long. She carelessly tossed the portcullis back into the ashes, then turned and walked away. As she disappeared back into the exit corridor, the black stone of the portcullis began to steam, and within seconds, the rock was turning red with heat. It turned what little of substance remained around it to cinders, and as the stone became white-hot, it simply broke apart, collapsing into pieces no bigger than chips of a pebble. That unholy artifact of the depths, part of the symbolic union Erika had maintained with the abyss, was no more. None would be able to reclaim it for their own personal aims.

Erika didn't waste time getting back to camp. She stepped into the tent in a hurry, quickly catching Luke's attention. She knew she was breathing heavily, but she attributed it to nearly running over to the camp, utterly none the wiser to how pallid she had gotten. When she saw the way he was still lounging in bed, it only worked her up further, and she ended up babbling "You're still in bed? C'mon, get up! We, we have to get ready, he's coming! Come on!" Luke pulled himself up out of bed, calmly answering "Erika, slow down, what happened? You told me you were just-" "I know what I said," she interrupted, pausing to preen her bangs, shoulders twisting as she anxiously looked around. Mind awhirl, she blabbered "We have to get ready, you have to get dressed, I..."

"Take a breath, you're going pale. Start at the top," he calmly instructed, stepping a little closer to her, watching her eyes. She did as he bade, raising her eyebrows as she drew in a breath. Settle yourself, Erika, you're panicking. You were calm before, don't lose your nerve now, not in front of Luke. Her shoulders rose, then slumped as she exhaled. She gave a couple quick blinks in rapid succession, then crossed her arms under her bust, her tone considerably more steady as she said "Balthazar contacted me, again...I could've ignored him, but I wanted to hear what he had to say." Her expression became more firm, more resolute, as she flatly added "It didn't amount to much. He's coming, and he isn't going to waste time. We can expect to see him soon. Like...Today, probably."

Luke's demeanor underwent an immediate change. His eyes hardened, his jaw tightened, and he gave a single firm nod of understanding. "Right," he answered. "I'll get dressed. Just give me one minute, and I'll be ready." She raised a hand and swept it across her forehead, digging her fingers into her hair. She idly turned away from him as he moved to walk past her and grab his clothes, but she swiftly turned back around and reached out for his hand, offering "Hey, wait, I just..." He stopped when she caught his hand, looking over at her with interest, one eyebrow barely raised. She looked hesitant for a moment, like she didn't even yet have the words for the sentiment she wanted to express.

Eventually, though, she tried to offer "Just...Be careful, okay? I'm not gonna lie, I'm terrified of fighting this guy. He's always scared the shit out of me." Her mouth settled into a flat line for a moment, brow barely knitting before she lightly arched an eyebrow. "And, thank you," she added, a little more quietly. "For everything you did, thank you. I haven't really thanked you properly for all you put in. I wanna take the chance to do it now, while I still can. Whatever happens, I want you to know how much it means to me." A hint of moisture crossed her eyes, but didn't progress too far before she was dropping them from his, uncontrollably swallowing. She looked back up to his eyes to find him smiling a little, a passive look in his eyes.

He reached up, swept her bangs off of her forehead, leaned in, and pressed a single kiss to her skin. As he leaned back out, he gave a stroke down the left side of her head, running his hand across her horn and over her ear. He didn't say anything, and turned back to his clothing. Erika smiled a little more, idly brushing her hair behind her ear. This was it. Something wicked this way came. If Luke was ready, then so was she.

They didn't know which direction Balthazar was bound to come from, or even how chaotic the struggle would be. The only thing they knew for certain was that he wouldn't take long to announce himself, and so, once Luke had dressed in his damaged platemail, the two of them distanced themselves from their campsite. At Erika's behest, they walked east, striding until the forests cleared and the two found themselves in a grand plain, wide open in every direction. This, Erika pointed out, meant they'd be able to see Balthazar coming from any direction well in advance, and they'd need every advantage they could get. With mountains far in the northern distances, the relatively tall buildings of a small city about a mile or two to the east, and nothing but forestry to the west and more grassy plains to the south, this stretch of land would suffice.

The two stood there and simply waited, seeing little else in the way of choice. No point in running. Nowhere to run to, nowhere to hide forever. No will to abandon the struggle right at the end. Erika desperately wracked her mind for some kind of ambush she could spring on Balthazar, some kind of sneak attack, but short of leaving Luke alone to hide high in the sky for a plunging attack, her choice in battleground worked against her just as well as it would against Balthazar. The wait wasn't long. Within the half hour, well before the sun had even thought of setting, something stirred. Erika and Luke both felt the rumble beneath their feet, throwing each other a quick glance.

The vibration rapidly intensified until Luke looked westward, back in the direction the two had come from. Balthazar made absolutely no attempt to mask his arrival, no attempt to sneak up on them. Why would he? Why should he? If anything, Erika's choice of battlefield had only helped showcase Balthazar's intimidating display. As the earth cracked asunder, Luke's expression hardened, invisible underneath his winged great helm. He drew his sword, but Erika just watched with unease growing overt upon her face. The miniature earthquake persisted as, some forty or fifty feet from them, a long, narrow split tore apart the soil, ripping the grass in a crack just wider than one's arms, spread side to side.

Erika watched, slowly working into a terror. With quick, fluid movements, twin pillars of smooth, black stone rose up from either corner of the crack, shaped like diamonds up to sharp points, ridges horizontally lining the pillars at steady intervals. The pillars each extended upwards for a good eight or nine feet, gently sloping all the while until either tip connected into an archway. Like a smelter coming alive, a flame ignited from within the earth's crevice, steadily rising upwards until it filled the archway up to the tip. Erika's breathing hastened to huffs, through her nose. Eyes locked on the flame, she locked up like a startled deer. Her mouth ran dry. The fingers of her left hand twitched as she willed them to move, and once she had control, she reached out and grabbed Luke's arm, holding his elbow tight.

He glanced over at her, giving a double-take at her condition. Eyes wide and unhinged, teeth loosely on edge, mouth hanging open a crack, she stared at the giant portcullis with her tail hanging low, practically trembling where she stood. Luke gave the portcullis a quick glance, then took a step closer to her, murmuring "I'm here with you. It's alright to be afraid, but we can do this. Don't let him beat you before the fight's even started." At first, Erika looked reassured, heartened, even. Then, she turned headstrong, just like he wanted. Brow furrowing, she tore her eyes off of the portcullis, looked at him, and stubbornly muttered "I...I'm not scared! I can do this, I'm ready to fight him! With you here, he's nothing!"

He nodded, playing along with the brave face she put on. They both looked at the portcullis just as a hand reached through the limen, fingertips piercing between realms, testing the connection. The flame simmered too intensely for Erika or Luke to see the other side, but they both considered that more of a boon than a hindrance. Neither were interested in witnessing whatever may have been taking place upon the other end of the tear. The fingers became a hand, then half an arm, and then, that monstrous figure began to step through, that twisted shape Erika remembered all too clearly. A foot hit the dirt, then a second, then a third and fourth. The flames washed across his body as he stepped into the Earth, reluctant to let him go. He breathed in deep the cold air of the mortal realm, baring his teeth at the nip of it.

Luke stared hard at the overseer, watchdog of who knew how many sorry souls trapped enlisted into the sexual caste. For every bit of the pain and horror in his twisted shape, there was sadness, loss. This thing had once been a man. Luke couldn't allow himself to forget that. The strength had come at a price - Hell always enacted a price to escape bondage. For all intents and purposes, Balthazar's form was similar to the mythical centaur, with a humanoid torso rising from the front of a quadrupedal, lion-like body. While the skin of his humanoid half was fair, the flesh of his lower lion half was dark gray in colouration, mottled with specks of black.

As Erika was all too familiar with, Balthazar's head had been twisted and warped until it resembled an agonizingly disturbing canine shape. His nose had been altered into a more snout-like shape, long, narrow, and wet like a dog's. His jaw had been similarly altered, changed with perhaps less elegance than one might've preferred. Over the upper half of his face and the back of his head down to the nape of his neck, he wore a helm of solid black metal, nary an eyehole in sight. He had multiple curling horns on either side of his head, sticking out between his human ears and the edge of his helm, spiralling without much grace or symmetry.

His shoulders were broad, his arms were thick and corded with muscle, and his chest was practically as wide as a barrel. Balthazar's scars were uncomfortably obvious. Not only were his arms covered in wavy, blighted burn marks nearly past his elbows, but his chest and stomach were riddled with randomly assorted chips, rivulets, and diamonds of pale white flesh, no doubt the remnants of rebellion from charges who fought back against his cruel punishments. Neither of them could see it, but his back was lined with hash marks nearly from his neck to the tail of his spine, right where his human torso connected with his lion's body. No doubt whoever still remembered the tale of how he had received the scars kept it well to themselves.

His stomach was chiselled with visible abs until they melted into his inhuman half, and the lion-like lower body was visibly thick with muscles, by no means reliant upon simple speed and agility. The legs of his lion lower half were burned even worse than his arms, leaving the skin coarse, black, the flesh left exposed to the air yet refusing to bleed. Perhaps most sad of all, his manhood were in a visibly similar state. The penis at the rear of his lion's half looked like it had been severed near the base, and although the wound looked cauterized, it didn't seem like it had ever properly healed. Although his testicles were intact, the lower third of his scrotum had been burned in an asymmetrical splotch. If that were Balthazar's penance as a demon - to be an overseer in the sexual caste, yet be unable to partake, himself - Erika had never been sure. Lord knew she hadn't wanted to ask.

His thin, meter-long tail gave a bit of a whip through the air behind him. Erika's body gave a quake as he noisily exhaled, then muttered "...I had forgotten how cold this...Piss hole of a world was." Erika spoke up, sounding surprisingly collected and confident in spite of the way she continued to hold Luke's arm. Loudly enough for him to hear her, she remarked back "Yeah, well, you get used to it." She could tell that Balthazar was looking at her, even if his helm covered the pits of his eye sockets. One corner of his long mouth turned up, and Erika couldn't help but tremble, again. Seeing him in the flesh...Oh God, she hadn't seen him in person ever since she had first been reincarnated as a demon. Knowing what he was here to do, facing him down, was too much, and he could tell. He loved it.

He loosely raised a hand and gave her a brief point, flatly uttering "I thought about offering you one last chance to come along before you made me force the issue, but then I thought, why bother? I'd rather drag you back, kicking and screaming like a brat." He barely shook his head, then muttered "All that sass and attitude, just crumbling away once we're back in the pits. I'm gonna enjoy reminding you of what you ran from, the first time around." The effect his voice, his threat, had on her was palpable. Her body language turned timid. Her free arm drew in close over her stomach, her legs came closer together, her tail dropped, and although her eyes remained in the general direction of his face, not only did they frequently flick off, her chin started to drop. Dew worked up in her eyes. She didn't want to go back. At all costs, she couldn't. Wouldn't.

Luke didn't need to look at Erika to tell that Balthazar had already demoralized her, dashing away what encouragement he had tried to offer her. Knowing full well that the only way to return her hope would be to show her that Balthazar wasn't in charge of the situation, Luke took a step forwards, fearlessly answering in her stead. Staring at the tall demon from inside his helm, he firmly answered back "She wouldn't give you the satisfaction. She's far from a coward. You aren't going to cow her and get yourself out of this, demon. You aren't taking her without a fight."

Erika's posture turned a bit less meek at Luke's defiance, the incubus tossing him a quick glance. When she looked back at Balthazar, her eyes started to harden. Balthazar turned his gaze a touch to the side, eyeing Luke. He briefly raised his hands, gesturing them out to the side, as if dismissing Luke's statement as insipid. The muscular legs of his lion half plodded the grass with hard thumps as he nonchalantly paced off to the side, remarking "She?...Right. The paladin. I almost didn't notice you. At this point, I'm more here for Erika than I am for you. You were a concern up until he broke his penance. Now that he has, you've served your purpose, as far as I'm concerned. If you still want to stick around, however, that's your choice."

Luke raised an eyebrow. "Served my purpose?" He repeated, somewhat flatly. Erika's brow knit in confusion. Balthazar paced back to his original spot before the portcullis, asserting "You presented a test of faith. Erika never fully embraced Hell, was never fully corrupted. Because of that, he was never fully trusted, either. He was never damned, only lost, and that meant he wasn't beyond reach. When you came along, it was a good chance to test his loyalty. He failed." Balthazar's canine-like chops split into a grin. A hint of amusement floating under the words, he slowly remarked "And that means he goes back to the pits. His status is forfeit...He's a punished soul, again."

Erika took a hasty step forwards, matching Luke as she blurted out "I'm never going back, Balthazar! Fucking forget it!" All fear left her posture, now replaced by rebelliousness, a confrontational resentment. She widened her stance a little, tail rising back up as her wings opened, a bit. Eyes widening, she let go of Luke's arm as she added "If you think I plan on going back quietly, oh boy, have you got another thing coming. You'll have to fucking kill me and find me, down there!" Baring her teeth in a snarl, she snapped "You're not going to scare me into just giving in, you twat, you're gonna have to work for it. Either way this goes, you're gonna torture me for eternity. You want me? Come and get me."

Luke readied his stance, holding his sword by his shield, staring Balthazar down as he chimed in "I'm not going anywhere, either, monster. It's going to take effort to take her from me."

Balthazar barely leaned his head forward, towards them. Low, firm, he answered "Suits me fine."

All at once, the feet of Balthazar's lion half came alive with flame like cinder, creeping up from his ankles until they had engulfed nearly the entirety of each limb. The grass under his body began to ignite, and all at once, a long, black shape was thrust out from the other side of the portcullis, sticking itself outwards in a long pole by Balthazar's right side. Erika's expression turned cold as Balthazar reached back by his side, gripped the long shaft of his weapon, and tore it out from Hell, yanking it over in front of himself. The battleaxe was easily as long as Erika was tall, with a thick blade that extended across likely a quarter, if not a third, of the haft.

The weapon was grand, if terrifying. The long haft of the weapon, well requiring both hands to wield, was made of a similar black stone to the portcullis, shaped with surprising care until it were a smooth, unadorned pipe. The end of the shaft bore a cruel spike, no doubt for quick stabs at a downed opponent. The blade was wavy, with an faint "S" shape that bulged out further near the very tip of the weapon, curved inwards, then flared back out in a bladed tongue towards Balthazar's hands, aiming outwards at his opponents. The faces of either side of the blade were black, while the fine edge of it glinted silver, reflecting the sunlight.

A spike to match the one at the bottom of the battleaxe protruded from the other end of the weapon, sticking out past the upper tip of the blade. A similar, smaller spike protruded from the opposite end of the haft as the axe head, allowing Balthazar to flip the weapon around in his hands and focus his strength into a single penetrating point, sure to punch through the strongest armours produced on the mortal realm...Or perhaps even beyond. A cruel weapon, but with a purity of purpose that one had no choice but to respect. Once he drew his weapon, a black, inky mist slowly began to emerge from the other side of the portcullis, an unnatural fog that despoiled the earth, killing the grass wherever it spread.

He gave no warning. Balthazar's body tightened for just a moment before he was suddenly racing towards them, winding up a massive, cleaving swing with his battleaxe. Erika immediately gave a great beat with her wings, lifting off of her feet in a wild pull backwards, throwing herself through several meters of space before catching herself on her heels with a grunt. Luke, meanwhile, stood his ground. Raising his kite shield, he used the same tactic he had against Samael, erecting a wall of holy light from his shield, a curtain of consecrated energy many times bigger than his shield, easily large enough to protect his entire body. When Balthazar struck the aegis, great sparks of light fired off, and Luke physically recoiled, having to stumble back a couple steps to catch himself.

Balthazar immediately took a hand off of his battleaxe, thrusting the point down into the dirt as he wound the other arm back. With a quick, annoyed grunt, he swung out and backhanded Luke, crashing his knuckles against the paladin's helm hard enough to twist his shoulders. Luke was surprisingly quick to recover, but he had to turn around to maintain his balance, and that gave Balthazar enough time to grip his weapon with both hands and wind up a downwards chop. Luke raised his shield, but before he could erect his divine curtain, Erika came flying in, slamming herself into the haft of the battleaxe. Grabbing it in her arms, she swung her body weight past it mid-flight, yanking the weapon far enough to the side that it missed Luke entirely, cleaving past his right arm until it hit the dirt by his foot.

Erika glared at Balthazar just as Luke came stepping in, cocking back his elbow to thrust his sword straight for Balthazar's chest. Without warning, Balthazar opened his mouth wide, a piercing red light emitting from underneath his helm as he gave a furious, echoing roar. Erika instantly screwed her eyes shut and scrambled away from the battleaxe, throwing her hands over her ears, giving a short scream of pain as the sensation of stabbing needles filled her ears. Luke was far from immune to the demonic influence of Balthazar's compulsion, and he, too, was afflicted, an agonizing sensation like digging blades filling his ear canals clear to the drums.

As the phantasmal needles dug deeper and followed her neck to her spine, Erika teared up, furiously shouting in her throat as she stumbled away. Luke accidentally thrust his blade out past the side of Balthazar's ribs, and the demon finally stopped roaring in time to unhand his battleaxe, grab Luke's sword arm in one hand, then his shield arm in the other. Without hesitation for sadism's sake, he started to pull Luke's arms back behind himself, aiming to snap them and leave the paladin crippled. Instead, Erika regained her senses and threw herself at him, flying straight for the left side of his head with teeth bared and claws extended.

Erika never expected Balthazar to unhand Luke, let alone to attack her. Instead, Balthazar let go of Luke's sword arm, yanking his body around in Erika's direction, pulling the paladin damn near like a rag doll. Simultaneously, he threw out a tight, controlled cross with his right arm, catching Erika straight over the left side of her rib cage with not just bone-cracking force, but enough power to unceremoniously knock her back out of the sky, swatting her back down to the ground without grace. When the knuckles of his big hand hit her chest, Erika could feel herself give way, inside. The breath left her lung as she was knocked back, and when her back hit the dirt, the wind was swept from the other lung, to match. Immediately, she writhed, feebly wheezing as she rolled off of her injured side. Tears flooded her eyes as she tried to breathe, only to find herself seemingly at half lung capacity. Even the tiniest breath was agony.

When Luke fell to his knees, Balthazar was still holding up his shield arm, which forced Luke to twist around until his back were turned to the big demon. Once Erika was down, Balthazar didn't hesitate to cock his elbow back and punch straight into the back of Luke's elbow. Not only did the force of the punch dent Luke's gauntlet inwards, but he dislocated the limb in an instant, rendering his shield arm impotent. Luke couldn't hold back a harsh grunt, body tensing up at the agony until Balthazar simply threw the limb downwards, freeing Luke to hastily crawl away, arm helplessly limp from below the elbow. Balthazar gave an exhilarated chuckle as he stepped back over to his battleaxe, grabbed it, and pulled it back out of the dirt with one hand. He threw it over in front of himself in a wide arc, slapping his other hand into it for a proper grip.

"I can't breathe!...I can't breathe!" Erika desperately whispered, taking short, shallow huffs for air as she held her left side, struggling even to rise to a knee. The agony, the fear, brought on a heightened sense of awareness. She could almost feel every individual blade of grass underneath her body, the subtle breeze picking up across the plain, the gentle warmth of the sunlight against the rear side of her body, the pulsing of her blood as it coursed through her body from head to toe in quick, frightened pumps. Some parts of her felt flushed, others felt cold. She looked over, spying the solid, if phantasmagorical, shapes that began crawling through the mist, still creeping out of the large portcullis like a toxic mist.

Creeping shadows.

Each were like a homunculus, an effigy of humanity, like a thin, undersized torso with a knob for a head and long, gangly limbs which they used to rapidly pull themselves through the mist, spreading it even more rapidly by carrying it with themselves. In seconds, they had doubled the spread of the mist, seemingly emitting it themselves as they crawled towards Luke and herself. Erika immediately started to beat her wings and pull herself off of the ground, trying not to wince at the way gravity seemed to rock the broken ribs inside her chest cavity. She glanced back at the city to her rear, eastward. Looking back at Luke, she could barely muster her voice as she blurted out "Run for the city, we can't fight him by the portal!"

The vivid red light hitting Balthazar's face from underneath his helm intensified even further as he furiously shouted "You're gonna be screaming, Erika!!"

Luke sheathed his sword in one swift, fluid motion as he rose to his feet, taking off into a reckless run before he had even fully gotten his bearings. Holding his shield and dislocated arm to his stomach to keep them from swinging about and no doubt worsening his condition, he began retreating with surprising, if not downright astounding, speed, the paladin taking off like his feet had wings. He moved so quickly that he could even keep pace with Erika as she took off, the incubus maintaining a lead of only a few meters as she beat her wings, throwing herself towards the city.

Balthazar didn't hesitate to give chase, holding his battleaxe across his chest as his lion half kicked into high gear, four feet pounding into the dirt with enough force to throw back grass and topsoil. He gave another exhilarated laugh at the chase, grinning as he watched the two of them flee. He may not have been built for finesse, but he had enough strength that when it came to a straightforward chase, a charge, he had the power and stamina to keep pace. He couldn't have ever been more than thirty to thirty-five feet behind Luke, and he never showed any signs of tiring or slowing down. Far behind him, his creeping shadows separated from the black fog entirely, moving like dark clouds as they followed the trio at a hopelessly slow pace.

After a solid minute of running, Luke still saw no need to glance back. He wouldn't have been able to manage without slowing down or risking tripping himself up, anyway. Erika, however, could maintain her forward momentum with greater ease, and tossed a look over her shoulder, only to find that Balthazar was still hot on their heels. She looked forwards, a cold sweat having long broken out across her body. Her eyelids flickered as she struggled to keep her mind alert, to stave off the darkness creeping up behind her eyes. The pain she felt in her chest and side had no descriptor, and her motions, while easier on her body than running and hitting the dirt, still agitated her condition, leaving her more and more worse off with every passing second.

The fact that she could hardly breathe exacerbated her state twofold. Before she had flown for even five minutes, she had gone pale, her skin clammy with sweat. Her eyelids flickered, and her flight became unsteady, dipping. Luke, by comparison, was in better condition - a dislocated arm, while extremely painful to run with, wasn't impacting his condition anywhere nearly as badly as broken ribs would. Luke's blood ran cold when he noticed the way Erika's flight became erratic. She kept holding on out of sheer force of will until the three of them had ran into the city outskirts, coming well within sight of a wall of wooden buildings, but then, her body failed her.

She had already felt like she couldn't breathe, but now, even when she tried to suck in air, all that came were gurgles. Her chest feeling warm and heavy, she panicked, eyes turning a hint alert with desperation. She tried knocking her chest, but the stuffy pain was crippling. Suffocating, she dropped out of the sky, striking the grass in a clump, hitting her knees hard enough to send her into a tumble. Luke immediately ground to a halt, but he needed a couple moments of sharp stomps before he could finally end his charge, and by that point, he had ended up running past Erika, leaving her between himself and Balthazar.

Erika rolled over onto her back, eyes wide as she clawed at her chest, desperate for oxygen. Balthazar roared at the sight, raising up his battleaxe, preparing a strike. Luke went racing back in, so desperate to beg for divine aid that he wound up speaking the prayer aloud.

"O Father, stand with me! Please!"

Luke threw himself in Balthazar's way as the battleaxe came down, and right before it connected, a burst of pristine white light erupted off of Luke's body in a wailing aria, turning him into a humanoid beacon. When Balthazar's blade struck Luke, it was repelled straight off of the paladin's body, throwing Balthazar's arms to the side as his weapon jerked to the side. Like Luke, Balthazar would've needed a bit of a runway to slow down, but with Luke standing right there, he didn't get it. When his shoulders were twisted to the side, he rammed straight into Luke, hip-first. Even though Balthazar certainly weighed several hundred pounds at the very least, he was far from an unstoppable force, but Luke, by contrast, had essentially become an immovable object.

When the two collided, Balthazar very nearly fell right over Luke. His body twisted to the side as he jammed right against Luke with meat-tenderizing force. His rear legs pulled him around to the side, he uncontrollably stumbled for several steps, then collapsed to his lion half's knee equivalent, the champion nearly crumbling, completely. Balthazar grunted as he dropped with his back turned to the two, jamming the pointed bottom of his battleaxe into the dirt as he pulled himself back up against it. Luke, an astral light still washing off of him in pulsing waves, turned back around to Erika. As he rushed to her side, the divine aria faded, and the wrathful aura surrounding his body receded, pulling back into his armour, consecrating it. Not only had the energy suffusing him fixed his arm, but now, his silverish steel platemail became as a luminescent gold, bolstered by his faith and the response the Heavens had provided in his greatest hour of need.

Luke scooped Erika up in his arms, putting his right arm under her shoulders and his left under her legs. If her injury weren't impacting her chest, he would've pulled her across his shoulders, but in her current state, he didn't trust that that wouldn't suffocate her even faster. Before Balthazar could recover, Luke was taking off in another sprint, breathlessly trying to speak a prayer of anodyne for Erika, to draw the attention of the Heavens towards her injuries, to save her before she drowned in her own bodily fluids. When Balthazar saw Luke running with Erika in tow, he gave a furious roar. The blade of his battleaxe began to visibly heat up, seemingly responding to his boiling rage until the blade had begun to redden.

Luke looked down at Erika, watching the way she struggled to maintain consciousness. The paladin barrelled towards the rear side of the nearest home, making for the backdoor. Just as he reached it, he twisted to the side and slammed his pauldron straight into the door, as close to the doorknob side as possible. The force of a charging, platemail-wearing man of Luke's size was more than enough to blast the lock apart, tearing the feeble clasp off of the inside wall in a snap, slamming the door inwards with wall-shaking force. Luke sprinted through the home's hallway, eyes locked on the front door until he slammed through that, too, winding up in the street beyond.

Balthazar, provided a clear view and knowing full well that Luke wasn't trying to hide inside the home, instead ran around it, following the short alleyway between homes until he was tearing out across the front lawn. Luke raced down the suburban road, plain wooden buildings with sloped rooftops rushing by in a brown haze. When a small crowd of people stepped out onto their porch a few houses ahead, Luke interrupted his prayer long enough to desperately shout "Run, stay out of the way!!" The figures gawked at the man in glowing armour carrying the little winged woman for a moment, but then they noticed the intimidatingly large size of the creature racing not far behind him, and fools that they were, they were no doubt fearful, but didn't see the need to preemptively flee when Balthazar seemed so intent on Luke.

Balthazar gleefully punished their simplemindedness by veering to the side towards them, baring his teeth as he wound up a massive axe swing. They all instantly panicked like cockroaches, but it was only the two at the rear of the group who managed to throw themselves back indoors in time. The three at the front of the group were cleaved straight in half, along with the twin supports for the front porch's miniature rooftop, in one clean, gory blow. Not only did blood blow free as the three bodies became six halves, but the porch's rooftop collapsed over their remains, dust billowing outwards from the old wood's landing. In short order, the wood ignited, leaving behind a fire as a reminder of the demon's attack. Balthazar gave a short, barking laugh, then veered back over towards Luke, resuming the chase after hardly a detour.

Luke was galvanized at the suddenness of the death, but he was far from surprised that Balthazar would involve innocents. His heart hardened at the senseless death, but he kept praying until, at last, the golden luminescence coming off of his armour briefly flared in intensity, bathing Erika in an extension of the miracle surrounding Luke's body. All at once, she started to give hard, body-shaking coughs, practically convulsing in Luke's arms as she expelled the fluids filling her lung, forcing her to try turning over to better vacate it. Luke promptly pulled Erika around against his body mid-run, an impressive feat even if their lives weren't at risk. He sat her up until he was sure he torso were secure against him, then he pulled open her legs until he could flip one of them around to his other side, crushing her crotch against his breastplate from the speed and force he needed to use.

Erika immediately wrapped her arms and legs around him, bouncing and jostling in his arms as she coughed over his shoulder, vacating the hot, syrupy mixture of blood and ichor that had begun to suffocate her. Once the coughing stopped, colour began to return to her skin, and to her legitimately heartfelt gratitude, the agony in her rib cage had stopped, her bones re-set by the healing Luke had provided. When her eyes rose and found Balthazar behind them, she glared, then loudly said "Okay, I'm alright, again! Let me go, I can sneak attack his ass halfway across the city, around here!" Luke wanted to warn her about being a visible demon flying around in a city full of ordinary, God-fearing folk, but he figured the risks were obvious enough, so he simply offered "Be careful!"

He pulled to the side, hastily ducking into an alleyway between suburban homes. He and Erika let go of each other, and in short order, she were pulling up from between the rooftops, breathing a little heavily as she tried to take stock of the situation. Luke turned his head back as Balthazar's footsteps came charging in, and when wood erupted off of the corner of the home and into the alleyway in a thick eruption of chips and splinters, Luke legitimately flinched, glaring furiously as he retreated further down between the homes, aiming for the next street over. Balthazar had swung his battleaxe straight into the exterior corner of the home with enough force to tear through almost straight to the interior, blasting off a thick hunk of the wall that quickly began to smoulder. The damaged wall, similarly, began to ignite, sending tongues of smoke upwards.

By that point, the commotion well and truly had the entire street's attention. Perhaps the suburbs were a sleepy sort, perhaps the sound of horse-like sprinting had caught attentions, but most had surely caught sight of Luke through their windows, by then. If the sight of a paladin in divinely-charged armour wasn't enough to draw them outside, then the large form of Balthazar certainly would be. Screams began to echo up and down the street as men, women, and children beheld Balthazar's nightmarish body, so vividly a twisted aberration, bearing no place on God's green Earth. People began to flee into the roads, giving Balthazar an excessively wide berth as they screamed for guards, for militia. Others slammed shut and secured their doors, most not even daring to peek through the windows before fleeing for the sense of safety their cellar might provide.

Balthazar glanced down into the alleyway between the homes, but by that point, Erika and Luke were both well out of sight, so he turned to face the din, instead. He gave a slow laugh at the display, standing his battleaxe against his shoulder as he offered some claps, looking up and down the road at the fleeing crowds, the households of mortals. Erika, hidden behind the rooftop to Balthazar's rear, had no choice but to listen to his laughter over the screams for help. As his laughter and clapping died down, Balthazar gave one more halfhearted look around for Erika or Luke, then started to grin. Hiding was beneath them, and searching was beneath him. Why chase them when he could bring them to him? Loudly enough that he was sure they could hear, loudly enough that his voice echoed down the road and between the homes, he shouted "Fine, if you want to hide, I'll just start killing everything I see until I find you!"

The corpses of the three people Balthazar had murdered just up the road convulsed for but a moment before creeping shadows pulled themselves off of the bodies, crawling down into the road in search of prey.

Balthazar grinned wider as he added "And I'm sure whoever collects them will tell them why they died: Erika hid to save his own skin! He let all these people be his meat shield! And you think you deserve Heaven?"

Erika's blood boiled, a furious snarl crossing her face, lip curling until fang was exposed. This had nothing to do with them, but of course he would involve them. It was her fault, it had been her idea to flee to the city - she should've seen this coming, and it was her responsibility to make it right. Not Luke's, not God's, her's. Balthazar held his axe up, still grinning as the red-hot blade of his battleaxe intensified to a searing white, then finally combusted, igniting until it was awash with hellfire. He charged across the street towards a new home, rearing back a strike. When he slammed his weapon into the home's front wall, Erika could practically see the building tremble.

The point of contact instantly ignited in flame, and Balthazar gleefully offered a couple more strikes until the flames washed up the home's face in a curtain of fire, hungrily consuming more and more. She watched, torn, but turned her head and looked up the road as fresh screams came. The creeping shadows he had produced of his victims were already chasing after people, long arms punching into the dirt road as they pulled themselves along. When screams began to come from the house Balthazar had set alight, Erika looked back, expression hardening. As soon as Balthazar had moved on to some other random act of senseless destruction, Erika was flying over, hurrying before the flames became too furious and consumed the house into collapsing.

Luke, meanwhile, had doubled back around in time to see Balthazar attack the home across from where Erika hovered, and when he heard the screaming up the road, when the creeping shadows began to strike, he moved in to exorcise the mindless manifestations of sin. He tossed a glance up the road, but Balthazar was too busy putting another house to the flame to bother looking up the road to check the civilian crowds. Turning his eyes back to the creeping shadows, he shouted over the screams, bellowing "Run, keep away from them! Make for the church, hide until it's safe!"

Some people were lucid enough to listen, especially if they saw the man giving orders was obviously a paladin. Others weren't facing him to see, or were too terrified in the confusion to follow anyone's advice, lest it lead to ruin. Luke charged towards the nearest shadow, drawing his blade, prompting it to emit a piercing white light, like a shroud surrounding the metal. The shadow turned to face him, never making a noise as it hastened towards him. Baring his teeth, Luke pulled his knight-blade back by his shoulder, and once he was close enough, swung it straight down into the shadow's body, cutting straight through.

The shadow had no corporeal form, and so Luke's blade swept straight through to the dirt, but the holy energy awash in his weapon tore asunder the effigy's form, splitting the sprite's body in half. Each half instantly burst apart into more black miasma, but Luke held his breath as he backed away, raising his shield to cover his face. He swung the flat of his blade through the fog, dispelling it before such a concentrated amount could harm anyone. He turned his head as he heard a woman scream, desperately crying out for help. Less than two dozen feet away, a middle-aged woman had tripped in her panic, then desperately attempted to fight the shadow off, not realizing that physical contact with the creature was utterly ineffectual.

Lost in horror, she struck and kicked at the shadow as it crawled over her, then simply collapsed into her, body and limbs fitting her's. In an instant, the woman stopped screaming, eyes going wide. Luke was already running over when the woman pushed herself back up to her feet with quick, jerking motions, skin turning pale as dark circles surrounded her eyes. Luke, watching the woman's face carefully, was already speaking the rites of exorcism when she began making her way towards him, eyes addled. Against a lesser man, the marionette would be slain, freeing the shadow to possess another. Against a paladin, more options were available: slay the marionette and destroy the shadow alongside it, or banish the shadow and save the human. Luke chose the obvious option.

As he finished the rites, he stepped in and laid his shield hand over the woman's shoulders, even as she groped for his throat in a pathetic attempt to somehow strangle him through his armour. She instantly gave a quick convulsion as golden beams of light flooded from her eyes, and when the light died, the dark circles around her eyes had gone with it. The woman lost her balance and stumbled, but Luke caught her, trying to ask her if she were okay. She was too insensate to give much in the way of response, denying Luke much choice besides ordering her to get to safety before leaving her behind to deal with the third shadow. On his way, he shouted "Don't breathe the mist, it'll suffocate you! Everyone, stay clear!"

Erika flew high above Balthazar's head, unnoticed by him as she dropped behind the first home he had set alight. Face hard, she raced for the backdoor. She had been in too much pain, too much of a panic, to consider the potential consequences for others by leading Balthazar to the city. She had only wanted to flee, and it hadn't truly mattered where. Part of her had thought she and Luke might've been able to lose him between the buildings and plan an ambush, but now, she had only led Balthazar to new victims. She had to do what she could to make it right. As she pulled open the rear door, wood smoke already billowing about the first floor from the flames, she yelled "Hello? Where are you?!"

The smoke dried and stung her eyes, and even the first breath made her cough. Cries for help came from upstairs, but before Erika could even move down the hallway towards the ignited face of the home, somebody was racing down the staircase just by the front door, stomping wildly in their hurry. Erika hurried to meet them, but when a middle-aged man bearing a swaddled form twisted around the banister so fast that he nearly collided into her, he sucked in a hard gasp and stumbled to a stop, backing up towards the burning front wall. His panic quickly turned to rage as he snapped "Back, demon! I, hurff hurff, won't let you take my son! My, hurff hurff-!"

The man began to descend into coughs, his panic worsening as he struggled to breathe, sucking in more and more smoke. Before he could lash out like a cornered animal, Erika snapped "Run out the back, it's clear! Don't breathe in the smoke, keep low!" She didn't wait for any kind of response. She bolted past him to run up the stairs, following her own advice by dropping into a crouch along the way. The child's screams kept coming from one of the bedrooms on the second floor, and Erika followed the sound until she came up to the bedroom against the front wall of the house, directly in the warpath of the flames. The screams for help died down into helpless coughing just as Erika reached the door and tried to push it in.

Locked. A flash of rage crossed her face. No bolt just above the doorknob. She shut her eyes and stood back up, holding her breath, covering her mouth and nose, as she blindly groped a hand near the top of the doorframe. In seconds, she found the bolt, high enough that one child couldn't release another, were one of them confined to their room. Erika pulled the bolt, then shoved the door inwards, dropping back into a crouch as she opened her eyes. The smoke that blew out from inside the bedroom agonized her eyes, and to her horror, the entire wall across from the doorway had just about been immolated. Whoever was inside couldn't have escaped through the windows, and they wouldn't have long before the building began to collapse onto their head.

Erika followed the coughing, hurrying over towards the bed. Feeling lightheaded from smoke inhalation, she didn't look, she reached, groping underneath until she found the thin arms of a child. She pulled, dragging the figure out from underneath until she could heave them up into her arms. Then, she was standing up, head pounding as she held her breath and ran back downstairs. She followed the rectangle of light that the opened backdoor presented until she burst back out of the smoke and into the clear air, sucking deeply before collapsing to her knees, hitting the grass by the back porch. She laid the small body in her arms down against the grass, watching the way the young boy, no more than nine, struggled not to slip unconscious.

Erika didn't even look at the father as he hurried over, shouting "Get away from him, you bitch! Monster!"

"Shut up!" Erika roared back, even more furiously than he had. She draped the back of a hand across the boy's mouth, checking his breathing. Shallow, but regular. She gently shook the boy's shoulders, urgently saying "Hey, wake up! C'mon, you're tougher than that!" The father quieted down, but he paced off to the side, flipping back and forth between rage and gut-wrenching concern as he watched his son. She grabbed one of the kid's hands and slapped it, then more gently patted him over the chest, trying to intensify his breathing by knocking some wind out of him. It worked, and without warning, the boy started coughing again, sucking in air.

The father smiled in relief, practically tearing up. Erika started to help the boy sit up, compassionately encouraging "You're doing great, kid, just breathe, you're fine!" The father hurried to his son's side, still holding the swaddled infant in his arms as he dropped to his knees by the boy. He gave Erika one distrustful glance, but the promptness in which she stood up to leave changed his mind, and he hurried to offer "Thank you, I, uh, I'm sorry for yelling at you, I just can't believe you'd help! You saved my son's life!" Raising his eyebrows, he was openly, utterly bewildered as he added "Why in God's name are you even doing this?"

Erika took a couple steps backwards, pacing away. Perhaps he naturally thought she were in league with Balthazar, she thought. Why wouldn't he think the two demons were in cahoots? Rather matter-of-factly, she curtly answered "Because this has nothing to do with you, and I'm sorry any of you were even involved! Just get somewhere safe!" As she turned and lifted back up into the sky, Erika's more bitter side felt like remarking something about gift horses and not looking them in the mouth, but it was a single voice against a chorus. The man had been grateful, in the end, and she was just glad to have saved the kid. Poor bastard had almost killed his own son by locking him in his room as punishment, but he hadn't necessarily been wrong to focus on a baby, first. The infant would've survived for half as long, in the smoke.

Erika flew up over the rooftops and hovered above the road just as the first of a local militia began running down the road, men and women of various age ranges racing towards the commotion. With Balthazar around the next street corner, busy spreading hellfire, the lot of them were blind to him, instantly homing in on Erika thanks to her exceedingly visible silhouette in the sky. One of them pointed up at her, shouting "There's the demon! Knock it out of the sky!" Erika denied them before the rangers amongst them could throw their slings, their payloads of pebbles. Lifting higher, she pulled back towards the X-junction in the road, calling out "Whoa, hey, I'm just trying to help! Do I look like I'm setting fires?!"

Thrusting out an arm in Balthazar's direction, she yelled "You wanna fight somebody, fight that guy!" The only response she received was stones, flung at damn near bone-cracking speed. A couple came too close for comfort, forcing Erika to turn with a resentful look on her face, bolting through the air down the road. She spotted Luke's golden armour not far past the X-junction, the young man trying to rally what stragglers were still in the area, shouting for them to evacuate the neighbourhood. He looked over just as she pulled back hard, her skirt whipping up as dropped to her heels not far from him. Looking at him a little breathlessly, she glanced around, hurriedly asking "You okay? Everything alright?"

"I'm fine, what about you? You look kind of scuffed up," he offered, glancing around for more creeping shadows. Erika simply glanced over her shoulder at the militia up the road, who had somewhat predictably decided to chase after her only to spy Balthazar around the corner in the process, wreaking havoc with his battleaxe, cutting into homes and setting them ablaze with his flaming weapon. She didn't answer Luke's question, instead hurriedly blurting out "Listen, those guys saw me, and if those wanna-bes try fighting Balthazar, they're gonna get themselves torn in half! We need to do something!" Luke glanced past her to the militia, who hastily stumbled to a right swift stop when they laid eyes on the overseer's monstrous form.

Luke gave a quick nod, already hurrying to rush up the road as he answered "I'm with you, let's go!" Erika turned and kept pace with him, running down the road until she simply leapt and took off in a glide, pulling up higher into the air as she began beating her wings. Balthazar turned, idly looking back over his shoulder. When he noticed the militia, he grinned, gripping his battleaxe tight with both hands. Creeping shadows began to trickle out into the street, a couple emerging from homes, here and there. The people in the militia looked amongst each other, the herd trying to gauge the collective courage. Could they, were they prepared to, face a demon of that size and strength? The flying woman had been one thing, but a man-beast with a giant, flaming battleaxe?

Luke made up their mind for them. Once he was close enough that he was certain they'd be able to hear, he shouted "Get out of here, you don't stand a chance! Run, we can handle it!" The militia looked over at the paladin, accompanied by the flying woman they had tried to attack. When Balthazar spotted them, a fresh red light ignited underneath the solid face plate of his helm, his snarl-like grin splitting wider. He took off in a run, racing up the road to intercept them. The militia turned and scattered, their morale instantly shattered so harshly that some even dropped their weapons to the dirt, as if pleading for mercy as non-combatants. The creeping shadows moved like fog on either side of the street, flanking the charging form of Balthazar, his lion legs slamming into the dirt, propelling his large silhouette towards the two lone figures at the crossroads.

Neither Erika nor Luke said anything, eyes locked on Balthazar, breaths measured as they timed their moves. When Balthazar was close enough, he wound up a swing over his shoulder, throwing his battleaxe down at a diagonal angle, aiming to hit Erika right out of the sky and leave her in pieces. Instead, she veered to the side and flew over and past Luke, leaving the battleaxe to cut right down in his direction. Luke raised his shield and erected another aegis of golden light, catching the battleaxe with a greatshield of consecrated force fit for a giant. Balthazar furiously roared as he pulled his battleaxe back and, like a mad lumberjack, began chopping back and forth against the barrier, each hit dimming the light as shining twinkles blew off of it. The more Luke focused to maintain the barrier and buy Erika an opening, the more he felt pressed to ignore the incoming shadows.

Erika swooped around in a curve, coming for Balthazar's rear side. She came in growling louder and louder with rage, eyes wide as she dropped down onto the back of the man's lion half, the sharp points of her heels stabbing into him like daggers. Balthazar immediately roared and stopped hacking away at Luke's blessed aegis, giving a jump as he bucked, throwing the back of his lion half up into the air. Erika couldn't even gasp. The motions of Balthazar's body threw her side back against him, and the force he shoved back against her with sent her catapulting over him, launching her clear from her perch over his back towards his own head. She tried to grab him mid-air, tried catching herself for a chance to attack him. One of her hands found his helm, and while the other hit one of his horns, she couldn't get a grip.

When she knocked his helm clear of his head, he roared again, exerting his malicious influence over everything within earshot, again afflicting Luke and Erika with the agonizing sensation of blades crawling into their skulls, digging into their flesh. Erika had to scream in her throat, desperately covering her ears, unable to catch herself as she struck the ground. She gave a grunt as she rolled, scrambling back up to her feet, eyes on Balthazar as she scrambled backwards away from him. Luke recoiled at the tormenting sensation, but never took his eyes off of the demon, body tensing as he stood his ground.

Balthazar stopped roaring, snarling as he simply kicked away his helm, batting it out of his way so hard it flipped across the dirt like a pebble across a lake's surface. Now, the endless black pits of his eye sockets were exposed, a piercing red pinpoint of light at either core, blazing like miniature stars. Erika avoided his eyes, but Luke couldn't help but stare, silently aghast at the manifestation of Balthazar's inner nature. The man was nothing, inside. Hollowed out. Corrupted to the core. The man-lion fusion, likely a representation of pride, suited him well. Balthazar gave a slow laugh, taking one hand off of his battleaxe. Jamming the point down into the dirt, he used it like a walking stick, poking it along in new spots as he paced off to the side.

He threw out his free arm, gesturing at the small city around them. Nonchalantly, he remarked "You know, when I'm done with you two, I don't think I'll head back, right away. No, look at these people, that...Sorry excuse for a guard force. One look at me and they turned tail." Erika eyed the creeping shadows, a good eight or nine of them all closing in around Balthazar's sides, coming precariously close to the two of them. Luke narrowed his eyes as Balthazar gave another chuckle, the overseer idly threatening "It's been ages since I last walked this world. Why not have a bit of sport, while I'm here? This place could do with a culling, and besides...The more souls go into the crucible, the happier God is. Isn't that right, paladin?"

Luke merely muttered back "Don't pretend you know what God wants." "I don't need to pretend," Balthazar challenged back, grinning. His eyes turned to Erika as he hastily snapped "The more I kill here, the more chances I'll have to meet people like Erika. Joy of joys." Erika lost her cool at the remark. She raced forward in spite of the call Luke gave, leaping into another glide. When Balthazar gave a quick, unexpected swipe with his battleaxe, still gripping it in just the one hand for a hasty blow, Erika dodged it, veering hard to the side to avoid it. She had already fallen for one sucker punch, and that was all Balthazar was going to get in. She'd be damned if he rattled her ribs, again.

Luke had no choice but to pull up his aegis when the shadows crept in close enough, blocking their progress with a wall of golden light. Erika threw out an arm as she flew past Balthazar's side, making the demon grunt when her claws raked across the side of his canine-like face, slicing open red ribbons across his long features. Balthazar grabbed his battleaxe with both hands and spun around to follow after her, but against his expectations, Erika didn't continue flying. She dropped down to the ground close behind Balthazar, twisting around to keep close to his body. Teeth bared, eyes wide and glowing golden, she gave him her best, punishing him for the taunt. Moving with inhuman speed, body darting and weaving at a surreal level of agility and power, she began slashing Balthazar's hind legs here and there, cutting him multiple times before he had even thought to react.

When he gave a twisting jump and threw his lion's body back, twisting himself around in a sharp turn, Erika ducked and dashed under his body, following his blind spot until she had cleared him, winding up towards his left side when he landed back on his feet. With a shout, Erika threw herself at the side of Balthazar's lion half, plunging her claws up into the underside of his abdomen, aiming for the place she was certain his stomach would be. Blood rushing down her hands, Erika heard Balthazar roar in rage, and when he pulled away, she tried to leap after him to keep up her assault. Instead, the bottom of Balthazar's fist swatted her mid-air in a hammer blow, ruining her trajectory, sending her spinning until she unceremoniously hit the dirt in a heap, gasping for air.

Balthazar roared "Die!" as he lifted his battleaxe over her, aiming the pommel spike for her chest. Erika twisted to the side, but she wasn't quick enough. Although she avoided being impaled, she was still only mid-roll when the spike came down, and it managed to catch her through not one, but both wings, crushing down through the bones near her shoulder blades. Erika threw her head back at the searing pain, writhing, choking back the shouts. She tried to pull away, but she was held fast, and Balthazar made no move to pull his weapon away. A couple seconds later, she understood why. Rather flatly, he remarked "You can just lie there and watch until I'm done with your little boy-toy, Erika."

Erika's expression went from a mask of agony to one of furor. Eyes still glowing, she shouted "Coward! Leave him alone! I'm the one you want!" Balthazar merely chuckled and slowly began walking away.

While Erika had wounded Balthazar, Luke had been busy fending off the shadows, trying to bash them away with his wall of light before finally giving up on playing defensive. He dropped the wall and began lashing out with his blade, slashing shadows left and right, cutting them down until one of them managed to touch his sword arm, exhaling miasma against the face of his helmet. Luke, not seeing the attack coming, breathed in a bit of the mist, immediately assailed by body-wracking coughs and lightheadedness, a noxious sense of sickness. He stumbled backwards to buy himself space while he recovered, trying to work the life back into his numbed sword arm, shaking the limb.

He opened his eyes in time to see Balthazar marching towards him, the final two shadows acting as vanguards. When Luke saw Erika's helpless state, the agony on her face as she writhed, he was given pause, torn. If there was anything Balthazar could've done to demoralize or otherwise strike at Luke, it would've been to torture Erika. He needed to help her, but with Balthazar standing between him and her, he didn't know how he'd be able to manage getting to her. Still, even if it were reckless of him, he couldn't leave her in that state. He charged forward, cutting through the final two shadows in a broad sweep. He continued on for Balthazar, but the large demon just reared up and stomped his front feet into the dirt, making the flame whirling about his legs explosively intensify.

Luke had to stumble to a stop and raise his shield when an inferno suddenly expelled outwards in front of Balthazar, erupting outwards in a rushing gout of ash-producing flame. The heat burned Luke's flesh even through his divinely charged armour, but he stood his ground, enduring with his shield held before his face, listening to the sizzle of his metal as it boiled hotter and hotter around his body. Erika watched, horrified, shouting Luke's name, warning him to watch out. Luke dropped his shield as soon as the flames died, but he had barely a split-second to react to the haymaker crushing into the face of his helm. All went black.

Erika's eyes went wide when Luke crumpled, knocked flat onto his back from the force of the punch. Desperate, she cried out "Luke! I'm coming!" The incubus moved one arm for a better grip, then sank both claws into the dirt. She needed a moment to build up the nerve, the will, to overcome the instinct not to harm herself, but then she was pulling, slowly but surely. She grit her teeth so tight, they could've cracked each other. Tears flowed freely down her face at not just the agony she was inflicting upon herself, but the simple thought of how she was crippling herself, ruining her own limbs. Such was the stuff of nightmares, and Balthazar knew that. He probably hadn't expected her to choose self-disfigurement, even if it meant freedom.

The spike started tearing through her wings, or more accurately, she began tearing herself off of the spike, pulling herself until the wound piercing through the membranes of both wings began to rip open, heading towards the edges of either wing. Hand over hand, she clawed at the dirt, pulling herself away from the battleaxe until, at last, it cut free. Mutilating her own wings like she was made her give hard, stomach-flexing sobs, disturbing groans of agony coming from the short demon as she struggled to rise to her feet. Luke needed her. Nothing else mattered. No amount of pain would stop her. She couldn't stop. Giving in wasn't an option.

When Luke went down, Balthazar barely chuckled, looking down at the paladin as he stood over him, appraising the fool. He reached down and grabbed Luke's legs, readied himself, then gave a shout as he twisted to the side, pulling Luke over. He was strong enough to lift Luke clear off the ground, armour and all, and send him spinning insensate through the air, sword and shield flinging themselves away from his hands in the process. Luke struck the front wall of a home Balthazar had already set alight, and the impact Luke made audibly cracked the wood inwards, shattering a window already weakened by the heat of the inferno consuming the structure. Luke's blessed armour shone brighter as his body collapsed down to the ground in a heap.

Balthazar turned back around to his axe, only to find Erika charging towards him, throwing herself at him in a frantic flurry of slashes and swipes, clearly desperate to take his attention long enough for Luke to recover. Erika stabbed her claws into Balthazar's human abdominal section, then ducked under him, throwing herself down to her knees hard enough for the latex of her thigh-high boots to slip against the dirt, letting her slide clear to Balthazar's rear regions. As soon as she was close enough to his crotch, she gave him a strike he was certain to never forget: ten claws thrust into two targets, five claws dedicated to each before she pulled down as hard as she could. Balthazar roared, shouted even, hard.

He jumped away from Erika, nearly trampling her in the process, breathing hard, growling raggedly at the undeniable agony the little incubus had inflicted upon him. When Erika got up, she finally noticed the crowd that had been congregating down the road, watching the battle unfold. At the head of the group, maybe thirty strong, there stood the man whose son Erika had rescued, expression tortured. Erika desperately flung a hand in their direction, shouting "What the hell are you doing, get outta here!!" She turned back around before she could see the crowd budge, turning in time to see Balthazar tear his battleaxe back out of the dirt. In the same instant, they met eyes. Balthazar bared his teeth in a wrathful snarl, the bloody mess of his ruined scrotum running blood to the dirt underneath the rear of his lion half.

In a split-second, the piercing light coming from his dark sockets became blindingly bright, and Erika found herself transfixed, utterly unable to move. His compulsion was too strong, and without warning, she was abruptly assailed by visions of pain - unlike her ability to force her victims to experience all their greatest carnal desires, Balthazar could inflict upon his victims scenes of excruciating physical agony. The pain hit her like a sword thrust to the forehead, throwing her head back, making her legs give out from under her, dropping her body to the ground in a hard physical shutdown. She hit the dirt on her knees so hard, her kneecaps could've cracked.

Over the span of a single second, Erika's mind was assailed with half a dozen of the worst forms of traumatizing torture, leaving her physically and psychologically stunned, defenceless. Eyes wide and to the golden, sunset-hued sky, drool helplessly ran down her lip as tears streamed from her glowing eyes. God Almighty, the things Balthazar would subject her to, if he took her back to the netherworld...They defied description. At this point, if he had half a chance, he'd drive her to insanity through sheer pain. She couldn't-

Someone in the crowd shouted. "Hey! Get up! Lady, c'mon, get up!"

Calls began to echo down the road, faster and faster, louder and louder.

"Don't let him beat you! Please!"

"Get up, fight!"

"You can do it!"

Erika grit her teeth. She couldn't fixate on the horror Balthazar had subjected her to. For her own fucking sake, she needed to fight! Never surrender! She raised her head back up. Slowly, Luke began to push himself up from the ground, groaning as he tried to rouse himself as quickly as possible. Balthazar's eyes flicked off of Erika and over to him. He grinned. Without warning, he began to charge. Erika glanced over and sucked in a sharp gasp. No, Luke wasn't ready! She scrambled to her feet, running to intercept her overseer. She desperately threw herself at Balthazar's legs, willing to use her own body as a speed bump to trip the demon up, but it was for naught. All she did was wind up trampled.

Erika screamed, partly out of sorrow and partly to warn Luke. When one of Balthazar's feet stomped the side of her head, her ears were filled with a sharp crack, a matching sound ringing through the air when another leg stomped her over her thigh, shattering her femur under Balthazar's weight. Erika was thrown around against the dirt, but wound up turning onto her side, nearly unconscious as she was forced to watch Balthazar's charge. Luke looked over to face Balthazar and realized that he were the recipient of the charge just a second too late. If he hadn't been knocked unconscious and had maintained a hold on his shield, maybe he could've defended himself. He tried to move out of the way, tried to weave, but he just wasn't fast enough.

Erika's eyes widened as Balthazar gave a furious shout, throwing out his battleaxe in a massive, cleaving arc, this time aiming the rear spike towards his opponent instead of the wide axe blade. The spike caught Luke straight over the chest, and then, Erika lost sight of him. He was catapulted straight off of his feet and right into the burning wall of the home behind him, and the battleaxe didn't stop moving. The inhuman force of the swing, powered by such a large weapon over such a focused point of kinetic energy, made Balthazar swing clear through the flame-damaged wall, shearing clear through it with seemingly zero resistance. As the battleaxe blasted back out through the wall in a swath wide enough to reach the front door, Erika screamed.

Oh God, no. Please, no.

The crowd fell silent. The ceiling of the home's interior began to collapse down now that Balthazar had ripped a chunk out of the wall, and in short order, the entire second floor began to collapse inwards, tilting the home's rooftop. Balthazar pulled his battleaxe free of the flaming husk with a snarling grin, gripping his weapon with both hands as he turned to face Erika, again.

Erika was a mess, but still, there was only one thing on her mind. One of her horns had been snapped in half, one of her legs was hopelessly broken, her wings were ruined, she were battered and bruised all over, but still, when she screamed, it wasn't for mercy, it wasn't out of agony. It was hopelessness.

"Luke! Luuuke!! Please, God, no! Luke! No!!"

Balthazar paced to the side, watching her break down, clearly enjoying the humbling sight. The golden glow left her eyes. Erika's face twisted up in despair, eyes red and puffy as she sobbed, uncontrollably frowning as she tried to hide the sounds from Balthazar. She closed her eyes and dropped the side of her head back down to the dirt, body quaking. The crowd watched, noiseless, as Balthazar threw his hands out by his sides, holding out his battleaxe with one hand like it were a mere baton. More than a little pleased with himself, he smugly, loudly, declared "Why so glum, Erika?! He's back with God, now! Aren't you glad? He's back where he belongs! Lucky him, he gets paradise!"

Erika, too distraught to listen, slowly shook her head, grinding her one intact horn against the dirt in the process. "He was the only one who cared!..."

Balthazar slowly paced towards her, again using his battleaxe like a walking stick, punching the bottom spike into the dirt with every step. He rumbled a chuckle, then retorted "Oh, I care. I care that you broke your penance. You don't deserve to be a demon anymore, Erika..." He came to a stop by her crumpled, desolate form, loudly slamming the spike of his battleaxe down so close to her head, dirt struck her face. Voice lowering to a mutter, he instructed "We have a date in the pits, Erika, but you know what?...We have time to kill."

He growled with annoyance as he leaned over far, grabbing her by one of her arms. He yanked so hard, he could've pulled her arm right out of the socket, pulling her up into open air until she was hanging from the wrist, dangling in front of him. She stopped sobbing, hanging limp from his bone-crushing grip. Her face was dead. Her eyes were empty and listless. Luke was gone. This had all been for nothing. She had allowed herself to believe the fiction that she and Luke might've been a match for the infamous demon, but at the back of her mind, she had always known what the outcome would be. Still, she had tried. She had tried so hard, but Balthazar knew what her one weakness was. If she would turn on Hell to protect Luke, then that meant Luke meant more to her than anything. Taking him from her would break her will.

Balthazar left his battleaxe standing in the dirt, freeing up his other hand to grab her free arm. Gripping both arms tight, he held her up higher in order to go eye-to-eye, upper lip trembling as he snarled, face like a hairless wolf's. The bright pinpoints of his eyes, shining red in his sockets, cast a faint light over her face as he gave her a little shake, demanding "Where's all your attitude, Erika? Come on, make a flippant remark, show some disrespect. Do it. Do it!" Erika's lips slowly twisted into a fresh grimace as she gently shook her head, tears rolling down her cheeks. Balthazar worked himself up until flecks collected around his mouth. The demon practically snapping his jaws and spitting fire, he furiously demanded "Show some sass! Tell me I haven't won! Tell me again how you'll never go back to Hell! Do it!!"

Erika took an unsteady breath before, voice choked up and cracking, she told him what she knew he wanted to hear. Lips quivered, chin trembled, spirit broke. "You won...Y-You beat me..."

She started to hang her head down. Balthazar grinned. "Say it again. Louder. Let me hear it!"

Erika didn't move. Didn't make a sound. Her final act of defiance was to preserve a shred of dignity. Balthazar's grin became another snarl.

"Hey, let her go!"

Balthazar completely ignored the voice, but Erika raised her eyes to the newcomer. A young village woman, no more than nineteen, came hastily darting in, kitchen knife in hand. Balthazar ignored her until she fearlessly plunged the knife into the side of his lion abdomen. All the knife managed to do was coax an annoyed growl out of the big demon, and he let go of one of Erika's arms in time to twist to the side and backhand the woman, shattering her jaw in an instant. She twisted and collapsed, making an undignified heap in the dirt, thudding against the ground. The crowd gasped. Balthazar cracked a grin at their reaction, then turned his attention back to Erika. With a patronizing hum, he lifted his free hand up under her chin, putting a knuckle to it to lift her face back up.

Erika refused to look into his eyes, and instead eyed the sky behind him. Smoke was flooding the golden horizon.

"Tell me you're ready to go back to Hell, you smug little prick," Balthazar demanded, condescension simply dripping from his jaws like venom. "Tell me you want it, and I'll let you have it."

Erika opened her mouth. There was no point fighting. This was the inevitable outcome. She and Luke had given it their best, and still...

"I'm...Oh, God..."

She closed her eyes. Fresh tears trickled down her face as she opened them, again. She almost didn't see the shape in the sky. She almost mistook it for a simple sunbeam peering through the smoke, playing tricks on her.

"...I'm ready to..."

When she focused on the shape, her eyes began to widen. Her jaw slowly went a little slack, easing open, a touch. Something was coming out of the golden backdrop, rushing through the smoke. Oh, God. Oh, God. When Balthazar saw hope bloom anew in Erika's desolate eyes, a bit of genuine confusion made him turn his head, an inch. Erika was revitalized, life returning to her face, a little smile even returning to her lips.

Luke's voice boomed across the sky: "You can't have her, you sadistic bastard!"

Balthazar turned his head in a quick twist, both surprised and enraged, teeth bared. Erika immediately took advantage of the opening by whipping up the arm Balthazar had left unrestrained - so certain was he of victory, of her will to fight being crushed, that he had left himself open to retaliation. Without a sound, Erika plunged her claws straight into Balthazar's throat, making his jaw pop open as blood ran up the back of his mouth. The crowd broke into raucous cheers and shouts of approval. A bright white shape came screaming down from the sky, tackling into Balthazar so hard that he collapsed to the road, unhanding Erika in the process, leaving her to plummet to the dirt.

With the one leg broken, Erika cried out when she landed, but she never took her eyes off of the scene before her. Luke was back. He was awash with light, a sharp, whitish aura, a glow that seemed to shroud his entire body. Wings, not unlike her own, now graced his back, bright white feathers almost seeming to give off a luminescence of their own, shining the light with a nearly mirror-like finish. Gone was his suit of paladin armour, gone were his sword and shield. Now, he wore a loose, flowing white shirt with elbow-long sleeves, alongside a simple blue pair of denim hosen, feet left bare. Beyond that, he looked exactly as he should've: tall, muscular, dirty blonde hair, strong jaw, but those cyan eyes of his...They were livid. Erika had never seen him so furious, before. The man was snarling. Wrathful angel. Nemesis.

Balthazar, stunned at having his throat shorn, was forced down against the earth so hard, Luke shattered one of the demon's four lion legs. Luke got off of him and jumped to his feet in a hurry, no doubt anxious to attack Balthazar now that the demon had been cut down to size. The overseer tried to bat Luke away, but Luke shoved himself into the arm and pushed back, overpowering the uncoordinated defence. When Balthazar tried to get back up to his feet, Luke pummelled him with a jaw-rocking cross, punching the man-beast straight back down into the dirt hard enough that when the side of his skull struck back down against the road, his horns stabbed into the earth.

Luke kept cracking his knuckles into Balthazar's dog-like face, smashing his snout, his temples, his jaw. Eyes wide, he shouted "If you take her, no place on this world will be safe, for you! I'll chase you into Hell, if I have to!" Erika grit her teeth, pushing herself up, forcing herself up to her knees. She couldn't leave Luke alone to this, even if it meant crawling on her knees and dragging her broken leg behind herself. Balthazar, skin of his face split in multiple spots from where Luke's knuckles had connected, finally got back to his knees, struggling to rise to his feet. By then, his entire chest had ran red with the small waterfall weakly babbling from his throat, but still, the big demon had it in himself to fight back.

He struck back, throwing out a wicked cross. The demon's knuckles hit the side of Luke's head with a meaty clunk, jolting it to the side from the force. Luke barely staggered, but then Balthazar was jabbing out a low strike to the gut, and that made Luke wheeze and stumble backwards. Balthazar bared his teeth, reared back an arm, and was about to throw a hammer fist down into the top of Luke's skull when Erika came jumping onto his back, shouting between clenched teeth. Eyes wide, she frantically slashed her claws into either side of Balthazar's neck, cutting tearing, digging deep for the arteries. Balthazar threw his head back, rearing up as well as he could, mouth hanging open as blood poured down his jaw, shoulders, and chest.

Erika started thrusting the claws in, striking bone. Her spirit reignited, her desperate defiance sparked from cinder to inferno. As she cut, as blood splattered her arms and face, she shouted "Die! Fucking die!! How do you like it, you son of a bitch?! Are you ready to go back to Hell?!"

Balthazar gurgled a roar, the red pinpoints in his bottomless eye sockets intensifying into little stars, all over again. As he tipped over, the lights abruptly snuffed out, leaving behind little more than black holes. Luke watched, panting, but called Erika's name when she didn't leap off of Balthazar. With her broken leg, all she could do was dig her claws into the man's shoulders and anchor herself in, holding on to him as he collapsed down to his side, taking her with him. When she struck the dirt, her claws were promptly knocked loose from Balthazar's flesh, and the wind was roundly knocked from her lungs yet again, hopefully for the last time, that day. The force of the impact made her roll over from her side to her back, the petite incubus panting, eyes closed.

God, just make the pain go away. Just make it worth it. Just give her peace. Just give her Luke. Don't take him away. When Balthazar fell, a cheer rose from the crowd, but one middle-aged woman, in particular, was tearful, rushing over as she loudly called "Charlotte!" Blue dress blowing about her body, she dropped to her knees by the courageous young woman who had rushed to Erika's defence, lying prone and insensate on the ground, face badly bruised from her broken jaw. Luke hastily reassured the woman, already moving around Balthazar's felled body as he said "Don't worry, she'll be okay, I promise you! Just take her to the hospice!"

The crowd slowly began to creep closer, now that Balthazar had fallen still. Luke hurried around Balthazar until he laid eyes on Erika's still form, sprawled out over her back. Rushing over, he worriedly breathed "Erika! Erika, I'm here, c'mon!" He dropped to his knees by her side, hurrying to slip a hand under her head, lifting her up off of the hard, dusty dirt. She winced, eyes largely closed as she croaked "Is he dead? Did I kill him?" Luke glanced up at Balthazar's body, wide back facing the two of them. Starting to smile, Luke looked back down at her face, readily confirming "Yeah, he's dead, you got him. You opened his neck like fish gills."

"Oh, good," she groaned, "because he almost beat me...Nng...Good thing I'm unstoppable, huh?" Luke gave a chuckle, smile cracking wider. He looked back up at Balthazar's body. The animus needed to be contained and expelled, preferably before Balthazar tried making the same speedy return that Luke had managed. His smile slowly withering, he began speaking the rites of exorcism, murmuring the prayer to himself. He had to admit, he was more than glad to be the one to chain the overseer to the depths, even if it were only for a time. He knew, not just from his time in the paladin order but from communications in Heaven, as well, that Balthazar typically avoided the mortal realm. Everyone should be thankful for that, considering the chaos he had displayed today, wrought in such short order.

He had built himself an infamous reputation, then had afterwards typically kept himself busy in Hell, using his clout to put other demons under his thumb. He had always seemed to prefer subjugating his fellow demons and punished souls, rather than bother with mortals. In Hell, he was largely untouchable. On the mortal realm, he faced potential defeat, damage to his reputation...Such as the resounding loss he had suffered today, at the hands of just one little incubus. He wouldn't soon forget it, nor would anyone else who witnessed Balthazar thrown back into Hell.

Eyes up on the sky, Erika groaned out "A bunch of people probably died in the fires...I wish I could've..." She sighed, breathing a little heavily through her mouth as she closed her eyes. "...I guess it doesn't matter, I just hope they're somewhere better," she muttered. Luke interrupted his prayer long enough to murmur "They are, just hang on, a second..." She opened her eyes, turning them over towards him, watching those lips of his shift as he prayed, to banish Balthazar back to the deep, dark hole he belonged in. In spite of the agony throbbing through her body, a strangely serene look drifted up on her. She even steadied her breathing. He was really back. For a minute there, it had all seemed so pointless. Without him, the struggle had just seemed to lose all meaning.

No halo, though. Luke was firing on all angelic cylinders, but he didn't have a halo. Funny, that. Luke closed his eyes at one point, and when the exorcism began to take root, Balthazar's body underwent an unexpected change. Luke began to look openly confused, watching as light began to emit from Balthazar's empty sockets, shining from the black depths. The flame coating his lion half's legs went out, entirely. The hash marks striping his back began to peel open, emitting a light of their own. Without a sound, the splits in his back began to spread across his body, running across more and more of his flesh until his entire body, human and lion halves alike, was shrouded in a white glow. The aura intensified until, slowly, it simply dimmed away, and Balthazar was gone. The body had vanished.

Luke had never seen an exorcism annihilate the corpse before, but if anything, he was certain it could've only been a good sign. With the body out of the way, Luke was promptly confronted with the sight of the crowd, just behind. The civilians that had observed the battle had drawn near, and with Balthazar gone, they only drew even closer. Most were obviously in awe of Luke's appearance, but others were openly throwing sympathetic glances down at Erika, lying there in a heap like she was. Luke looked back down at her, bringing his free hand over to the side of her face. When she felt his hand touch her, so gently sweeping down from her temple to her jaw, she just about gave a quake. Trying to put on a smile, he did his best to put a joking spin on her condition, quietly asking "So, what happened to your horn?"

Erika slowly rolled her eyes upwards, then tiredly groaned "Oh, you know...I thought I'd trim my antlers." Luke gave a legitimate chuckle at that, but then Erika was muttering the truth, admitting "...I tried to stop him, when he charged you...He stomped my head. I still feel woozy..." "You're gonna be okay," Luke quietly reassured, giving the side of her face another stroke.

"She's gonna be okay?"

Luke looked up. The crowd had come near enough that everyone could look down at Erika, and leading the bunch was the boy whom she had pulled from the fire. He still wasn't in the best shape, he still had soot on his clothes and ashes smeared on his face, but he was alive, and that's what ultimately counted. Not much worse for wear, he now simply looked concerned for his rescuer, if helpless in the way only a child could look. Luke just gave the boy a little nod, then looked back down at Erika. The boy's father stepped forward, coming up behind the youth, placing his hands on the boy's shoulders. Looking at Luke with a somewhat pleading expression on his face, he mumbled, as if he were reluctantly making some grand request of someone likely to reject it.

"Please, sir...She saved my son. You don't have to hurt her. I know she's a demon, but...She pulled my son out of the smoke."

Luke started to smile from ear to ear, still looking down at the demoness. Had she, now? He leaned over and gave her a little kiss to her pouty lips, lightly murmuring "...And you say you're not a good person." Erika couldn't do much by way of response besides try to stifle a trembling smile. Another person in the crowd stepped forward, staring wide-eyed at Luke as she slowly asked "Sir, uh...Excuse me, sir...Are you...Really an angel?" Luke raised his eyebrows, looked up at the woman, and simply nodded, saying nothing. Several people in the crowd merely stared at him for a moment, then abruptly dropped to their knees, bowing their heads. Still others anointed themselves with the sign of the cross, and some even mumbled quick verses to themselves.

Luke didn't try to stop them, but he didn't really pay much attention to, or take much personal pride in, their displays of faith. He looked back down at Erika, smiled, and murmured "That was really brave of you, you know...Standing up to Balthazar like you did. I know you were terrified of him. You had good reason to be...You couldn't have handled this situation any better." Erika gave a wince, then mumbled back "I could've not led him to the city, maybe...That was real smart of me..." Luke's smile turned rueful, but before he could reassure her that she had made the best choice, she quietly admitted "...I didn't think you'd be back...I didn't think you could come back, especially not that quickly..."

She opened her eyes, looked up into his, and confessed "...I almost gave in..." Luke tried to smile more, as if to tell her to dismiss her sense of guilt. He brushed some of her hair behind her ear, then leaned in and pressed a kiss to her forehead. "I wasn't about to leave you behind," he quietly remarked. "My work wasn't done. They couldn't let me back out fast enough...I just needed to come back." She smiled from ear to ear, closed her eyes, and quietly groaned "Ugh...You big cuddly bear." A glisten began to fill his eyes. He stroked the backs of his fingers down her cheek, then brushed his thumb against her lower lip. She was so beautiful, even now. Even after everything, in spite of everything, she was gorgeous, maintaining her strength despite what had almost happened. For a minute, he had been terrified he'd lose her, more terrified than he'd ever been. Just having her back, regardless of her condition, was a blessing. He could barely take his eyes off of her face.

He was silent for a moment, but then he confronted the elephant in the room, the one that had simmered between them ever since he had exposed his true nature to her. If there ever was a time, it was now. Quietly, he murmured "...Come back with me. Please."

Erika's throat visibly tensed as she swallowed. Her eyelashes fluttered for a moment before she opened her eyes, looking up at him with a fatigued, almost remorseful look. The crowd silently watched as Luke barely shook his head, murmuring more before Erika could respond, quietly adding "I can't stay, not like this...I died, I technically have to go back to Heaven...I kind of broke the rules to rush back here so fast, but I just don't want to go back without you...Please, Erika. Heaven has nothing, if you're not there. Everyone misses you...I'll miss you." Erika opened her mouth, but all she did was draw in a faint breath. She turned her eyes skyward, letting them slowly shift about in thought. Teardrops slowly brimmed up at the corners of her eyes. To forgive...Her pride felt like it was giving in. The rest of her just wanted the struggle to be over.

"You're not a bad person," Luke quietly insisted. "You always deserved Heaven, and this is our chance to right the wrongs of the past!...I've tried so hard to show you that God never abandoned you, that the people you used to know never forgot you, that you weren't a monster!...But, I can't force you to do something you don't want to do. You have to agree before I can take you..." Erika turned her eyes back over towards him. Her lower lip slowly pouted as the tears trickled from the corners of her eyes. It hurt. It hurt so much to face it, again. Luke just looked at her, silently agonizing, trying to gauge her reaction. She gave a couple quick blinks, then started to smile. Audibly trying to keep her voice steady, she shakily mumbled "...Would we get to stay together, if I did?"

Luke broke out into a smile, immediately answering "If that's what you wanted, I wouldn't say no..."

Erika smiled wider. Hell had never taken her. Her soul had only ever been lost, and here was the shepherd to show her the way. The man who had personally given so much to give her something so much better. There was the choice of forgiveness, closure, and healing, and the choice of pride, of moving on, of owning her situation. To reconnect with her past, or to keep the life and choices she had made afterwards, alongside the consequences. Only one of those choices bore the love she wanted.

Erika barely nodded. Voice choking up, she quietly mumbled "Okay...I just don't want to lose you..."

Luke's eyes started to brighten. Erika gave a trembling grin at his reaction, offering a breathless chuckle before she confirmed her choice, murmuring "You convinced me. C'mon, stop tearing up, already. Take me with you...I'll talk to God. We'll work it out, ourselves...No middlemen." She winced as she raised her arm, touching the side of his neck. Offering a wink, which really just looked more adorable than seductive in her teary-eyed state, she added "And then, you and I are gonna have a victory celebration...Got it?"

People in the crowd began to break out into smiles. Even without knowing the full story, most of them could read between the lines and glean an understanding of what had been happening, here. Luke smiled wider, exhaling a little breath of relief. Tears began to run down his cheeks as he closed his eyes, slowly dropping his head, breathing out "Oh, thank God," before his forehead gently touched her's. Erika closed her eyes, offering the littlest chuckle. If she could own up to her mistakes, then why couldn't other people? If she could work to make right her own wrongs, why couldn't other people? It'd hurt, but nothing was perfect. Not her, not Luke...Dare she say not even God, considering the pain His plan had caused?

"You won't regret this," Luke softly murmured, by her lips.

She just smiled. He was right, she had a funny feeling she wouldn't. She hadn't been sure for the longest time, but now...Now...

The crowd watched, awed, as Luke folded his wings down, extending them towards the ground, as if to cradle Erika from the outside world. The mirror-like finish they possessed began to reflect the sunset, causing the light they naturally gave off to amplify, grow, until he and Erika both became invisible underneath it. Erika closed her eyes tighter. This was a reunion nearly a century in the making. The light filled her eyelids as the dirt disappeared underneath her, the pain vanished from her, all sounds faded, and even gravity seemed to evaporate. The only thing that remained was Luke's hands on her, then the way his arms slipped around her, taking her close.

The crowd watched as the light faded away, and when it was gone, so too were Erika and Luke. They had vanished just as thoroughly as Balthazar had. Hell couldn't have her, anymore. The incubus and the angel had simply disappeared into the ether...Gone to a better place.

~~End of Ch. 11~~

Chapter 12: Epilogue

Chapter Text

Incubus Erika

Part III ‑ "Wingless"

By: Jesse Racine AKA Samson

Original Date Written: April 5, 2017

Luke stood up from the bedroom wall with a bit of a start, head promptly turning in the door's direction. His jaw eased open when she stepped into the doorway, a mischievous little half-smile growing on her face when she spotted his reaction. She made a show of giving a cute "Haaah" of a sigh, daintily stepping into the room before shutting the door behind herself. She put her hands to her hips and openly appraised the bedchamber, quickly scanning here and there. Not bad, not bad at all. For a space of his own making, it wasn't too shabby. Kind of spacious, kind of homey.

The walls were painted a navy blue, while the hardwood floor had been covered nearly corner to corner in a giant, matching blue rug, riddled with labyrinthine designs of black and gleaming silver. The far wall was covered in giant panes of glass that gave an admittedly magnificent view of the sunset, turning rolling hills of green grass darker and darker shades of emerald. Over against the left-hand wall, there was an impressive king-sized bed, covered in thick white sheets with black pillows for contrast. The bed had a short headboard, but a curling footboard for one to sit over, should they desire. A table in the far left corner had a vase with flowers standing overtop, more than a little reminiscent of the vase she had kept in her den. She had to smile, at that. Touching of him to remember. Downright cute, honestly.

She cocked up an eyebrow, tilted her head to the side, and let her smirk widen into an oblique smile. He didn't look any different: tall, muscular, dirty blonde, damn rugged good looks. He had a white sweater on, alongside a simple pair of denim hosen. Nothing really new or extravagant. Same old, same old...Not that she was complaining, mind you. As far as Heaven went, Luke was unchanged, exactly as she remembered him from their time together. He didn't even show the wings, now! Truly, things were back to normal...At least, for her. When he kept roaming his eyes across her, soaking in her changes, she teased him, a little. Lips barely shifting, she wryly remarked "What, cat got your tongue?"

He couldn't help but give a chuckle, clearly trying not to grin as he raised his eyebrows. He started walking over to her, slipping his fingers into his pockets. He gave her eyes a glance, but then he went back to roaming across her body, a chuckle caught in his throat as he said "No, no, uh, just...Wow, you look really good." He looked back into her eyes, a somewhat befuddled look coming to him. Brow knitting a little, he subtly arched an eyebrow, gave a little shrug, and admitted "I, uh...I guess I didn't really know what to expect." She gave him a look, offering a sharp little smirk, one eyebrow furrowing as the other rose high. "Didn't know what to expect," she repeated, openly amused at his puzzlement. "How do you mean? I don't get the surprise, help me out, here. How else was I going to turn out?"

How indeed. While it was true that Erika had underwent a hefty change, she didn't very much look all that different from her succubus form, really. Perhaps losing the trappings of the netherworld, losing that naughty Hell flair, was stunning enough, for Luke? For starters, she had lost her horns. Shouldn't have been all that much of a surprise, really. Her skin was still creamy. She still had her thick, silky coiffure of bloody red locks, and she still wore it in the same way, with long, straight bangs hanging down either side of her face clear to her jaw and a wavier waterfall hanging down to the back of her neck. Although her pupils were no longer predatory slits, although her eyes were no longer golden, they had maintained a bright hazel colour, a nice complement to her rich hair colour. Nothing bizarre or abnormal. Surely, it wasn't just her eyes stunning soldier boy speechless...

She was still gorgeous, still flawless, still beyond beautiful like only a sex demon could be, with thin eyebrows above thick, plentiful eyelashes, a slender nose that led down to full, puffy lips, and that tiny little beauty spot she had, just by the outside corner of her left eye. Surely, he had gotten used to seeing that pretty face of her's, so perhaps it was the new makeup that was startling him? Well, new - she still wore a dash of black eyeshadow, a bit of eyeliner, and matching black mascara, but now she had just a hint of rouge on her cheekbones, alongside a downright glamorous application of glittering red lipstick, drawing more than a little attention to those plump lips of her's. If Luke's mind were wandering, well, she certainly wouldn't blame him, but to get speechless like this?...Nah. Must've been something else.

Perhaps he had expected her to lose her curves? Couldn't possibly be that. Even if he had, well, he'd have to be disappointed, not shocked. Her downright hourglass figure hadn't gone anywhere, holy man. She was still a shortstack, still around five feet tall, still curvy like the best succubus in the netherworld. She still had those big E-cups, she still had that narrow waist, those wide hips, those thick thighs, and that derriere was still scandalously swollen with enough cushion to accommodate several pairs of hands...Nothing had changed. Even her taste in clothing hadn't really gotten any more modest. Why would going to Heaven make her any less proud of her amazing body? Why would Heaven make her not want to show off and display the goods?

Instead of her leather collar with a heart-shaped hole over her throat, she now wore an admittedly more tasteful locket. The thin silver chain draped around her neck hung down into her cleavage, and dangling there at the end, there was a simple heart-shaped charm, inscribed over the front with a couple words so small, they may as well be filigree. She had on a white, silk-thin, short-sleeved top tight enough that it pumped up her big bust like a brassiere, yet still somehow managed to display some jiggle whenever she walked...Alongside the faint outline of her nipples, immodestly enough, including the little balls of the barbell piercing she had maintained. Of course, the top was cropped so Erika could bare her midriff, showing off those faint abs of her's. Couldn't hide those. Maybe that was what had Luke wide-eyed?

Maybe it was the tight blue denim short-shorts she had on? Yeah, that might've been it! Not only was the seat of the short-shorts filled out to seam-bursting capacity by that big ass of her's, but the front had a glaringly obvious bulge to it, a nice, big, plump mound, a rounded globe pointing out, pressing tight into the zipper. Knowing him, he was probably shocked she'd show off her bits so clearly, but then again, considering her naughty parts hadn't actually shrunk, it's not like there was any concealing it. With a ten-incher and undercarriage the size of apples, people were bound to see it no matter what she wore, barring a nun's habit. Erika's fashion sense forbade such repressive wear. Just put it on display, in that case! Not like it was a secret, right?

Her smooth legs had been left bare, but on her feet, she wore a surprisingly classy pair of stiletto heels, replacing the bone horns that had previously jutted from under her ankles. The heels were coloured a dark, ashen gray, with multiple thin straps that crisscrossed the top of her feet and points about as long as her old infernal heels had been, allowing her to maintain the center of balance and augmented height she had spent nearly a century growing accustomed to. As a finishing touch, her fingernails were still long, still impeccably manicured, and now sported a fresh coat of vivid red nail polish. No longer did she have a spaded tail, and like Luke, she didn't show the wings, but she was where she belonged, no doubt about it. In their private time together, there was no need for displays such as that.

Luke came to a stop within arm's reach, smiling wider and wider as he looked down between them. Somewhat sheepishly, he mumbled "Uh...I don't know. I guess maybe I expected you to..." He gave a couple blinks, eyes going half-closed as he gave a subtle shake with his head, dismissing his own comment with a curt "No, it was silly, just forget it." She raised an eyebrow even higher, started to grin, and dropped her voice to a low mutter as she suggested "You expected me to turn out more like a boy, didn't you?" He waited a moment, then gave a shrug. She grinned wider, then teasingly uttered "Well, sorry to disappoint you. I liked how I looked." He raised his eyebrows as well as his chin, gave a little shrug, and passively defended himself, wryly remarking "It isn't like that, c'mon. It was silly of me, like I said. This makes perfect sense. After all that time, this feels more like you than the old you. I understand."

She narrowed an eye at him, starting to smile from ear to ear. Pressing her teasing a little harder, she wandered past him, remarking out of the corner of her mouth "Can't a boy have boobs? Sheesh, the nerve of this guy. The state of this world! Gotta butch it up for him, I guess." "Erika," Luke dryly remarked, making her grin. He turned to watch her as she crossed her arms under her bust, shrugging with her eyebrows as she gave his space another look. A bit coyly, she remarked "It's pretty simple, but I guess it'll do. You don't have much imagination, do you? I mean, not even a bookcase? C'mon. Gonna need to give this place a touch-up, myself." Luke patiently glanced up towards the ceiling, replying "Well, I haven't actually spent all that much time in Heaven, you know. I had things that kept me busy...Hint hint."

She grinned, then spun on a heel and faced him, cocking out a hip before grabbing it. She suppressed a chuckle alongside some more teasing, watching his eyes as his demeanor shifted. A more preoccupied look came to him as he closed the distance between them again, coming up until he could reach over and lightly hold her shoulders, idly giving them an affectionate rub. Looking down into her eyes, he spoke a little more softly as he asked "So, ah...How did everything go?" Erika's grin closed, wilting back down until she looked a hint reluctant. She briefly looked down at his chest. With a calm that Luke had to admit he wasn't really expecting, she murmured "Well...It wasn't easy. I mean, I didn't expect it to be. I don't think I'm ready to talk about it. God and I talked, a lot...Then I saw my family, and heard from some people who used to live in Canders."

He gave a little nod, sliding his hands down either arm. One corner of her mouth flickered up as she met his eyes again, gave a little shrug, and casually added "I don't think it's going to be easy, for a bit...But, you know what? I'm okay with that. Nothing worthwhile is ever easy, and I'm already really glad I made this choice." She started to smile again, and the sight was reassuring enough to get him doing the same. Erika graciously offered "It was nice to bury the hatchet and actually close that chapter in my life, after all this time. I see what you meant, now. I guess they really are sorry for what they wound up doing to me." She drew in a breath, reached out, and took his waist, then started to smile wider. Raising her eyebrows a little, she confidently asserted "I'm here to stay. I'm where I belong. This is still new, but...You know what? It's good."

He started to smile from ear to ear. Her smile grew to match his. She gave a bit of an exhilarated huff through her nose, gave a couple blinks in rapid succession, then added "I'm so glad it's finally over. I almost can't believe it. I..." When she kept blinking but the moisture kept growing in her eyes, they reached around each other in the same moment, taking each other in their arms. She gave a heavy sigh as she pressed her cheek against the center of his chest, squeezing herself tight against him, loving the way his big arms looped around her shoulders. Voice a little low, he soothingly murmured "I'm really happy for you...I'm really glad you could finally reconnect with the people who care about you. I'm just sorry it took so long."

She gave him a halfhearted slap to the back, murmuring "Don't be, you had your reasons. Don't ever try to sell yourself short, man...You put in work to get through to me. It's my own fault for being so stubborn." Luke barely gave a chuckle. Voice a little low, he teased "Aw, well, that's just part of your charm." She furrowed her brow at the banter, but then she was letting slip a chuckle of her own. She offered a purring hum as she nuzzled her face against him a little more, but after a few moments more, a downright scheming look started to cross her features. Brow furrowing a little, a sharp smirk growing on her face, she opened her eyes just a crack, just to mischievous slits.

Speaking a little slowly, she led him on, pointing out "You know...I seem to recall that when I agreed to this idea, I made you promise that we'd have a victory celebration, didn't I?...Yes, I'm quite sure that I did..."

"Uhh...I don't seem to recall agreeing to any promises. More like you just told me it was going to happen and made the decision for me," Luke answered, a little reluctant, a little playful.

Erika tilted her head back to look up at him, flashing him a big barracuda grin. She dropped one of her hands to the seat of his pants, gave him a patting, and said "Oh, no. I'm quite sure I recall promises being made, and if we're gonna keep living together like we did in the camp, then I think the celebration should properly consummate our new space, huh?..." Her grin became downright wicked as she added "Over and over again."

Luke merely gulped.

"...Oooh, there we go!" She playfully exclaimed, shutting her eyes as she grinned. She bit her lip, drew in a deep breath, then huskily mumbled "Loosening up a little, eh? Mm!" Luke just gave a little groan in response. She paused, leaning over far enough that she could nuzzle the back of his head, pressing her nose and mouth against his hair in a tender display of affection, giving him a little kiss near the nape of his neck. Sitting back up on her knees, she grinned down at him, putting her hands close together over the middle of his back to support herself. What a silly sight they would've made: this big man lying nude and face-down over the bed, hips slightly raised to meet the curvy little naked woman kneeling over him, straddling him somewhere...Personal.

Erika gave a little giggle at the flexes he gave, around her. She ran the tip of her tongue across her lower teeth, then grinned, again, and cooed "Now, since it's your first time, big guy, I won't go too deep...Just four or five inches. You can handle half of it, can't you? I could handle your whole thing! Not easily, but hey, I did it, and I've barely ever even used my ass!" He groaned again, but this time, it was more of an exhale if anything else, even a steamy one, at that. She gave a giggle, gently rocking her hips left and right for some grinding motions as she murmured "Don't worry, I won't take too long...Then, it's your turn. Mm, this lotion's great! Nice and slippery, huh? Ooh, you're gonna love using it...But first..."

She leaned over him again, this time making it a point to sink herself even deeper. He groaned a little harder, tilting his head back. She brought her mouth by his ear and, grinning all the while, she breathed "First, it's my turn. I've wanted to do this for a long time, now. I'm gonna beat that hole in, sweetheart. You're as tight as I thought you'd be, you know...Hey, you keep flexing that bump against me, I might make you cum before it's even your turn, soldier boy. If you have an anal orgasm before you even put it in, you won't last long before popping. Just relax and take it, and let me hear your cute moans, while you're at it." She purred a hungry chuckle, then started rocking her hips. As an afterthought, she added "Don't forget to say my name when I cum..."

Luke groaned his assent, a noise that only made her bite her lip, again. True to her word, she didn't take long to finish up. After going so long without putting it to him, she couldn't very well be expected to hold out, now, could she? At long last, for the first of hopefully many times, she had gotten to give her man a taste of the infamous Erika Funstick, complete with cream filling. When she finished, Erika, face a little shimmery with perspiration, couldn't help but give an adrenaline-laced quake, a big, trembling grin splitting her beautiful features. Her eyes started to roll back as she deepened her thrusts, speeding up, grin slowly opening until her mouth was hanging open. Oh my God, this was so much better than her victims! This was...This was a dream come true! Just her and Luke, just the two of them, just constant anal sex, sex with feeling, giving and taking, day in and day out-

She shut her eyes, tongue practically lolling out with how hard she was breathing. She gave a harsh, high-pitched moan, practically squealing "Aw, fuck! Here it comes, big boy!"

"Erika!" He groaned. Good boy. Right on cue.

Fucking hell, did it feel good to hear him want it. Those big, heavy balls of her's drew up in that bloated beanbag. She hung her head down and gave a couple jittering trembles as she started blowing, offering a long, loud moan as she began dumping rope after rope into her lover's back passage, flooding him with a nice, big injection of patented Erika Slime, extra potent and packed with protein. Luke clearly felt it, judging by the way his breathing grew ragged, his groans grew harsher. She opened her eyes halfway mid-climax, staring off into the distance. Those puffy, sparkling red lips of her's formed a tiny ring as she exhaled a quick, deep sigh, smiling dreamily as the flow tapered off to a drizzle, a hot, syrupy flow deep into his once-virginal rear.

Almost under her breath, she exhaled "Oh, fuck, that was good..." She looked down as she withdrew, watching the way his ring clung tight to her until she finally popped free, leaving her blushing, goopy cock twitching and thrumming in the open air, jutting from her lap like a veiny horn of meat. Within seconds, cream was slowly leaking from his well-loved pucker, but c'est la vie. She looked up to the back of his head and encouragingly breathed "You did great, lover boy...That was awesome. Mmm, not so bad, right?...Fun, right? Now you know why I like it, so much...You still with me?" She grinned wider when he, with a not-so-subtly hungry undercurrent, groaned out "Yeah..."

She bit her lip and purred an excited titter. She could already tell, she had flipped this guy's switch. Oh, he was gonna jackhammer her, now. He was gonna give that little temptress a taste of her own medicine, via eleven-inch suppository. She slowly began to dismount, then encouragingly offered "Your turn, lover boy...Don't hold back, now. You've still got it in you to top me, right? Well, let me have it, then! You've gotta give as good as you get, you know?" "Oh...I'll let you have it, alright," Luke quietly retorted, pushing himself up from the bed. Erika turned over and got down on her back, grinning as she lifted her legs up, pulling her knees back. When she saw Luke, face an embarrassingly thorough shade of crimson, lift himself up and let his surprisingly rigid baton drop from against his stomach, she couldn't help but start to go red, herself.

Eyes unapologetically locked on his manhood, her expression started to go dreamy, again, as he reached for the jar of lotion, pulling out a small handful of that clear, syrupy sap. When he brought it over to his pulsing bludgeon of a thick manhood, his frighteningly thick eleven inches of meat, he wrapped his fist around his length and started working it into his skin, passing his hand back and forth with those charmingly distinct wet sounds of somebody's rigid battering ram getting a good greasing in preparation for a most intimate of workout routines. Erika watched the show with glazing eyes, her eyes almost beginning to cross by the time she mumbled some encouragement, nearly whispering "Yeah...Get it lubed up, for me...Work it harder..."

Luke entertained her by twisting his fist around his length, letting her watch him crank his handle from root to tip for a few seconds more before moving closer to her. He smiled warmly down at her as he got in front of her, sitting on his knees between her upraised legs. He brought a hand over and lightly rubbed a still-slippery fingerprint across her little crinkle, smiling wider as he angled his fingertip for entry and slid on in, easing his digit through her rosebud without much in the way of resistance. Erika briefly closed her eyes, offering a tiny sigh in response. He eased his digit deeper, pressed it into her upper wall, and pretty quickly found that big, muscly knot, that magic button she loved playing with, that special spot that could so easily get her panting.

He gave it a little rub, prompting her to barely nibble her lip, then coo "God, don't tease me, it's super sensitive, right now!..." "Mm, I can tell, it's still bulging up," Luke murmured back, trying not to smile from ear to ear. She couldn't help but grin, opening her eyes to get a good eyeful of her man as he primed her for a no doubt considerably lengthier pumping than she'd given him. Her pride might've stung at that, if she didn't know she'd do better the next time. Her pride might've stung, if she didn't want him to take his time plowing her. This was the first day of the rest of her life, right? The whole idea of this had been to start it off right!

She looked up at him as he slipped his finger free, then moved to come over her, smiling down at her as he took over for her and held her legs back. He pushed her knees nearly to either side of her chest, all in a needy bid to leave her tush nice and defenceless, to better expose the winking sphincter waiting just below those big, overflowing balls of her's. She puckered up and blew him a smooch as he eased his hips in and found her little ring with the hot, rounded knob of his helmet, prompting the both of them to give a husky sigh. Before he started to push in, she suddenly gave him a big, warm smile, lips briefly trembling as she gazed up at him. Dropping out of seductress mode, she offered a more heartfelt, genuine murmur, nearly breathing the words: "I love you so much...You're the best thing that's ever happened to me, you know that?..."

Luke might not have been expecting the comment, judging by the way he went still. His smile spread wider, for a moment. Saying the words put a shimmer in Erika's eyes, and seeing his moved response didn't help. He started to ease himself down closer overtop her, coming within kissing distance as he murmured back "I'll always love you, Erika...It was all worth it, just to see you happy, like this." She gave a huff through her nose, a tiny chortle. Heart of gold strikes again. She closed her eyes, and a teardrop rolled from the corner of either. When Luke touched his lips to her's, she kissed back, slowly, deeply, tenderly. She gave a slow sigh against his cheek as he tilted his head a touch, deepening the kisses further, the tips of their tongues meeting each other in a little dance.

Maybe not everyone could be saved or redeemed. Maybe the paladins were right to strike down most demons. Maybe angels couldn't always reach out to those lost, but today at least, Hell had lost an incubus. If the heart was still pure enough, if forgiveness could be given, if love could be accepted, then one was never truly without hope. Someone needed to try. Even the darkest demons were still God's children. Someone needed to save the people who felt abandoned, scorned. If nobody did, if the attempt was never even made, people like Erika would be lost forever, convinced of their own wretchedness. The pain and anger would fester until nothing but a shell was left, a sad, cynical thing like Balthazar. Compassion and forgiveness could not be forgotten by those who claimed God's court for their own.

Erika and Luke would have as long as they wanted to make up for lost time...Starting today.