Chapter 50

Lena was amazed by how much stronger Drake was, since his Level up. He'd already been super strong when they had fought before, but now he was super-duper strong! It was what a Level up did, but still! She'd never seen it up close before! When she poked him, there was less give! When a monster attacked, he moved like woosh boom smash! When he lifted her up, it was like she was light as a feather! And when they did it, he lasted longer!

It made her wish she could get double pregnant! She liked strong guys who could beat her up, and Drake was even more a strong guy who could beat her up now! He was cutting through monsters like they were made out of paper. Monsters she'd have to work to fight! It was crazy, the difference between Levels! She needed to reach Level Three!

"Now, Lena," Drake said; he and Cassie took a step back, and Lena rushed in to fill the gap.

Her foe was a Metal Rabbit, looking like a cute rabbit, except sculpted out of steel, and the size of a foxhound. Despite the small size and cute appearance, this meek monster was on a level with her. It was her rival. Her mortal enemy! Drake had said that emotional valence seemed to help with Leveling. She didn't know what that meant, but he explained that it basically meant, if you really hated your opponent, or otherwise were really striving to beat them, then you were more likely to Level and your status grew more. She didn't get it, but she did get that she should think of this not just as 'a metal rabbit', but as the incarnation of all the mean things in the world!

"I'm gonna kill you, mean rabbit!" She remembered when Bych had been talking about miscarriages, and the thought of all those cute dead babies...! She had a baby in her stomach! The Metal Rabbit was basically a miscarriage! If it killed her, then her baby would die! She roared and sliced and diced, swinging her sword around and around and around. The Metal Rabbit had no chance! She would kill it, and save her baby!

But it leaped at her! It was strong, and fast! Her sword cut into it, but it didn't bleed, because it was made of metal! She hadn't thought of that! Luckily, the force managed to knock the Metal Rabbit off its course, and it tumbled and recovered. It hissed - did real rabbits hiss? - and lunged at her again! This time, she was ready for it, and knew she had to put all her power into the strike. Her hands gripped the hilt of her blade tight, and when it grew close, she brought her weapon up in a powerful strike, catching the Metal Rabbit under the chin. She roared as she hefted the Metal Rabbit up and up, towards the ceiling, and her sword sawed at it from the force of the blow and gravity.

Then, it happened - her blade cut through. The Metal Rabbit just fell apart, splitting into two halves, which promptly started to melt. She let out a whoop of excitement. "I did it, Drake!" She lunged for her husband, horny and happy, imagining she had just successfully joined him up on Level Three. He easily caught her, not even losing his balance, spinning her for a moment before they settled down.

"Good job," he said, patting her head, and she couldn't help but grin. They'd definitely be doing that tonight!

* * *

Noriko held the grimoire in her hands. Her fingers felt like an eagle's claws, as they wrapped around the extremely precious thing. It had cost her one hundred seventy six million valis, as it turned out. That was approximately 14.29% of her total net worth at the moment. By extension, it was an extremely large quantity of money. Her fingers held onto the item in her grasp tightly, as she simply stared at it.

"You may want to read it now," Hephaistos suggested, making Noriko blink. "You seem pretty attached - and it would be terrible to lose it. I don't mind if you do it here in my office, as long as you're quiet."

"Ah. Then I will read it." Noriko did not ask Drake his opinion, and instead quietly moved into a corner of the room, sat down on the floor, and opened the book.

The Secrets of Sorcery, First Edition

Chapter 1: Processes & Conceptions

It is important to understand magic not as a purely technical process, but an artistic coming-together of various other more scientific forms. Similar to how a painting requires both various technical skills - selecting the paints and canvas, handling lighting, figure work, et cetera - as well as that sine qua non of artistic vision, a magic user must similarly combine base talents which anyone can learn, with those unique to their own conception of the world.

Noriko was somewhat concerned. Firstly, there was text in between the lines that she could read, which appeared to not be written in Koine. She could speak and read that language, thanks to the process by which she was transferred to this world, but the strange figures in the middle, she could not read. If she could not read them, would she be able to cast a magic spell? Secondly, she had never had any particular artistic ability, therefore, she was concerned that she would fail to manifest a magical spell that was of any use.

The sorts of magic which anyone can cast - the base, rote spells of people even without a falna - are works of art penned long ago. We are interested, in this text, in teaching you to formulate your own beautiful work of art, to paint in your own colors.

Noriko turned the page.

We must focus on you. On your desires. Your wishes. Your inner self and inner life. Your hatreds and your loves. What you aspire to become, and what you desperately wish to avoid. The unique qualities of the individual reading this text are precisely what defines your falna, and therefore they will also define your magic.

Noriko turned the page again. This time, the text appeared curious - it was like an icon of a human face, formed through the tight writing of the letters and the interlaced strange characters. There were visible 'holes' for the eyes, mouth, and a vertical line for the nose as well. There were even simple human ears emerging from the side. She blinked.

Please remain focused on this question: what is the thing you want most in the world? Focus. This text is the mechanism through which magic becomes manifest. Therefore, continue to focus. Orient yourself entirely to the text you are reading. You are being educated, and thereby becoming more than you once were.

Noriko turned the page again, recognizing the face in the pages as her own. The same soft lips, pale coloration, dark hair, somehow written and legible on the page in front of her. It looked like a mirror - or perhaps a pool of water, ready to dive into. The letters that formed the eyes were the only ones she could truly understand, though:

Now, let's begin.

The words this time seemed to be spoken with a voice, as she turned the page once more.

What is magic to you?

Esoteric. Powerful. Complex. Strange and wild. It was the fabric of horror stories: that which could not be fully understood, which worked in strange and surprising ways. That was magic. It wasn't anything simple or straightforward. She flipped to the next page, utterly entranced.

What is the substance of magic?

It didn't have a substance. It was ephemera, unformed. But if it had to have a substance... something strange, and alive, something that did not follow all the rules you would expect it to. Magic was alive, yet not, like a thought: moving, changing, adjusting, morphing. Not fixed at all.

What do you seek in magic?

Something to protect her husband and co-wives. Something to make her strong enough to be useful. Something to make her nothing like her father, who had been just a cruel brute. Something to make her like Cassandra or Bitch or Erza or Rei, someone who could protect those that she cared about no matter what.

A reasonable wish.

Noriko nodded, and the one inside the book also nodded right back. She turned pages, each of which seemed to have an ink blot instead of text, the words and shapes formless and wild. She turned, and she turned, and she turned...

* * *

I watched as Noriko read with increasing mania, her cool grey eyes seeming to briefly come alive like polished steel, as she flicked through the pages. Page after page went by, and then her head lolled. She kept dipping forward, inch by inch, looking almost like she was about to fall into the book. Then her eyes peeled back, only sclera exposed, for just a moment before her head flopped straight into the book, her already messy hair splaying around the pages as she simply flopped forward into an exceptionally awkward position.

I rushed towards her, picking her up from the book. The pages were now strangely empty. "She's alright, right?" I asked Hephaistos, as I cradled the unconscious Noriko in my arms.

"Yes," Hephaistos agreed. "That's just Mind Down. It always comes when someone learns a spell. She'll be good in a little bit." She smiled gently, seeing me carrying Noriko in a princess carry like that. "I'm glad she has someone like you to love her," she said, her eye sparkling.

Her eye... "Ah... since we're basically alone... there is something I was wondering," I said. Hephaistos raised an eyebrow curiously in response. "You don't have to answer if you don't want to. And I don't mean to impose. But... what's behind your eyepatch?"

She let out a small, melancholic laugh at that. "It's nothing you need to concern yourself with."

"I'm not concerned. I mean, you saw Julia when she was- you know. Evil." Hephaistos nodded. "I've heard your eye scares people off, if they see it. Even hardened adventurers." Hephaistos just nodded again. "So. What is it?"

She sighed. There was still this grim curve to her lips, something self-loathing in that smile of hers. "It is what it is."

"If you keep dodging the question, I might put Noriko down and pull it off myself," I said, earning a laugh from Hephaistos.

"You really are something," Hephaistos said. "Nice with Noriko, but an arrogant braggart with me?"

"Oh. Sorry. I didn't mean it like that. You just seem... like you want to show me, but are worried I'll respond like everyone else?"

"Worried? No. You don't worry if the sun is going to set, either."

"I'm made of stiffer stuff than most adventurers."

She laughed at that again. "Yes, yes, and you can become an expert blacksmith if you just spend the effort on it," she said.

"I wasn't lying about that, either," I told her. "Here, I'll show you." I gently set the dozing Noriko down on the ground, and Hephaistos didn't flinch back as I approached. My fingertip gently hooked under the eyepatch. I waited one second, two - just long enough to be awkward, but also giving her the chance to tell me off. Then I flipped the eyepatch up.

Her left eye was a burgundy red, matching her hair. Her right eye, the one hidden behind the thick eyepatch, on the other hand, was a vivid blue. But just like she had a quiet aura of divinity, the right eye had just the opposite. It was like looking into Hell, or worse. And not a vague sort of hell, the sort that people just use as a casual referent, but more like medieval paintings or the Inferno, the complex and sophisticated sort of Hell that showed that somebody had seriously thought about how best to torture human beings for all eternity. That was the impression one was left with, looking at her right eye. I had to burn Essence to Duck Fate, twisting the more intense effects of exposure away from me.

"Ah," I said, as I saw it. "So that's how it is. Should I put it back down?" I asked her.

"I can do that myself," Hephaistos said, flipping the eyepatch back into place. "You can go, now. If you're holding yourself together just for me-"

"I'm not. I'll flip the eyepatch up again to prove it to you, if you want," I told her.

She didn't seem to believe me. She just stared for a long second, taking hold of the base of the eyepatch. She moved her thumb like it was to flick the eyepatch up, but she didn't, actually. I didn't flinch, even when she repeated the process with a subtly different movement. "Really?" She asked, at last. "It didn't affect you?"

"It affected me." Even with Duck Fate, I knew what had almost hit me. "But it's what's on the inside that counts. And I know you're a good, kind, caring goddess." I smiled as I remembered my own goddess - who could only be described as good, kind, and caring with enormous asterisks.

Hephaistos, on the other hand, turned red. "I... see... thank you, Drake. I'll... look forward to seeing what you make when you do take up smithing, then," she said, at last. "You should take Noriko home and give her a proper bed. She'll be up in an hour or so."

I gently lifted Noriko up, carrying her princess out of the room, hooking my foot into the door to her office to close it as Noriko sleepily rolled in my arms, one arm lazily hooking around my neck as she mumbled in her sleep. It wasn't long before we were back in the Twilight Manor, in our room, with Noriko still asleep. I gently laid her down, but as I unwrapped her arm from my neck, she mumbled in annoyance and displeasure - so I curled up with her in the bed, wrapping my arms around her sleeping form as she reciprocated by pushing back into me, her cheek nuzzling my chest.

* * *

Noriko Iwakari

Strength: S999 → S999

Endurance: S999 → S999

Dexterity: S999 → S999

Agility: S999 → S999

Magic: I0 → I0

Magic

Mar Tiamat

Summoning Magic.

Creates one of eleven monsters from the light of the user's soul: Basmu, Girtablullu, Kulullu, Kusarikku, Lahmu, Mushussu, Musmagghu, Ugallu, Umu Dabrutu, Uridummu, and Usumgallu.

Chant: I call to you from the depths of my being. Come forth and take form. Be my weapon and my shield. Protect me and those I love. Destroy my enemies and those who would do us harm. I offer you my magic as sustenance. Consume my essence and be born into this world. I am your master and you are my servant. Do as I command and let us together crush our enemies. Come forth and show me your power, (monster)!

Noriko looked quietly at the piece of paper in front of her. Loki sat behind her, humming to herself in joy at the text. It was an amazing new spell! Cool! Useful! And most importantly - and rarely - varied! This was the sort of spell people would eat glass to get, like Riveria's triplicate spells or Lefiya's Elf Ring! Okay, so it took a little longer to cast, but who cared?!

"I see," Noriko said, in her same placid tone. "This spell appears to be in line with the sort of spell I wanted."

"It's an amazing spell!" Loki told her, grinning as her head swooped around to meet the girl's gaze. "Top tier! Hahaha, of course, only the best from my children!" She cackled in delight.

"I do not know of any reason to believe that my acquisition of this spell is in any way due to you."

"Guh," Loki replied. "Too mean! But, I'm willing to let it go, if you promise to let me grope your boobs whenever I want, once you've got them," Loki said, placing one hand on Noriko's bare shoulder.

"I will not do that." She was shot down instantly. How cruel! She didn't even consider it!

"No..." Loki whined. Why did none of her children ever just let her grope their boobs?! Other than Drake... which reminded her of how he had always let her grope him. "Well... I guess if you agreed too easily, it wouldn't be any good anyway. Drake is so boring because he's in love with me, and even before then, he was super nice!"

"I believe that is a poor perspective to take on a romantic relationship."

"It's a true perspective! That's the joy of the tsundere! First, they're icy cold - then they're white hot! It proves that you're so amazing, you can make a sexy somebody do a one hundred and eighty degree turn!"

"That is very stupid," Noriko said. Loki just scoffed. What did this girl know of love? She'd just fallen in with the hot superstud harem king! Such girls knew nothing of the complexities of a real romance! That was how they fell in with the hot superstud harem kings in the first place! The guy just did some bullass like save their cat from a tree, and blammo, doki doki heart pounding love! "I believe it will mostly result in failed romantic entanglements, as few people will transform from being 'unhappy' to 'happy' with someone. Further, even if they did, there is a high probability that whatever caused them to dislike you will remain, and eventually reassert itself."

That was way too close to accurate! Her Noriko was supposed to be completely ignorant of such love details! "Where did you hear that?"

"It was from a conversation between Drake and Rei, my co-wife."

"I know who Rei is!" Loki said. Did Noriko think she was totally dumb?! Best not to check. "Look, it's the dream, Noriko! The dream! The ideal love!"

"Have you seen anyone successfully achieve this sort of relationship?" Noriko asked.

"Sure, lots of times," Loki said. For example, she had seen it twice, since she'd come down to Gekai, twenty-eight years ago. She'd seen it even more back when she was up in Heaven, processing souls. Such romances were one in ten thousand! That was a lot higher than zero!

"I see." Noriko was quiet. "I would like to test the spell now. I call to-"

Loki snapped her hands around Noriko's mouth. "No!" She cried. "Look, that spell, we don't know all the details yet! You shouldn't summon a monster in front of me! What if you can't control it?!"

"Then this would be a very bad spell."

"Not necessarily! Like, what if it just sort of goes wild and attacks whoever's around, including other monsters! Then it'll be useful! Or what if it just attacks other monsters, but you can't direct it, so it'd just fly out of my office. Also it could be huge, and completely ruin my office!"

"I see. Then where should I test the spell?"

Logically, the Dungeon, with a higher Level member of her familia, like Ais or Tione, present, but... "Ah... ah I can't bear it! I want to see it myself! Let's go, we can try it out in the yard, I'll grab somebody first!"

* * *

Noriko stood in the field outside of the Manor. There were several high Level adventurers there, standing to watch her perform her magic. She did not believe that they were simply there in order to handle whatever monster she summoned, as she was only a Level One and presumably could not summon an overly powerful monster.

"Which monster should I summon first, from the list?" She asked Drake, who was also present as an observer.

"Ah... just pick whichever one seems best, or even at random. Sometimes your conscious mind won't be aware of something your unconscious mind is."

"I see," Noriko replied. She considered the list again. Eleven names were written on her status sheet. "Lahmu," she said. She nodded to herself. "Very well." She took in a breath, and began the chant, which was also written on the sheet. "I call to you from the depths of my being." She felt something inside her stir and come to life. "Come forth and take form." The sensation grew more powerful, filling her insides completely. "Be my weapon and my shield. Protect me and those I love. Destroy my enemies and those who would do us harm." The power seemed almost to burst forth from her body, like she was about to explode, but she continued with the spell anyway. "I offer you my magic as sustenance. Consume my essence and be born into this world." The pressure lessened, but something was inside of her mouth, sticky and wet. She could talk around it despite that. "Come forth and do my bidding. I am your master and you are my servant. Do as I command and let us together crush our enemies. Come forth and show me your power, Lahmu!"

At that moment, something flew forth from her mouth, the sensation of being overflowing with power replaced with total enervation, mental and physical. She collapsed to her knees, looking at the figure in front of her. It was simply a wooden statue the shape and size of a man. She felt some strange bond with it - as if she had grown a third hand.

"Huh. Is that it?" Tiona asked. "Can it move, Nori-chan?" She asked, tilting her head round to Noriko.

It couldn't. That knowledge was deep inside her. But she could do - something. She reached out towards that sensation, still kneeling, and water burst forth from nothing, floating in the air. She could move it, making it spin gently.

"Are you doing that, Nori-chan?" Tiona asked.

"Yes," Noriko got out, barely. Her breath felt shallow. She felt exhausted already. It was like she had stayed up all night having lovey-dovey sex with Drake, and now that the sun was coming up she was trying to stay awake despite it. Her eyelids were so heavy... her head drooped...

"Call it back, if you can't take it," Drake said, his voice soft and gentle. She did as he said, not with any conscious thought, but simply because it was Drake, and she trusted him, so she did what he said without her thoughts present. Her head was still quite dull, as the power and force she'd invested in the creature came back to her, but her head could at least pull up. The creature was gone, and there was a splash of water on the ground.

"Don't worry, Noriko," Loki said, sidling up to her and plopping down on the ground next to her. "It's totally normal when you cast a really powerful spell for the first time," she said, grinning.

"I see... that's good," Noriko said, her thoughts still very sluggish.

"Well, with how strong that spell is, it's gonna take some practice before you can use it properly, but don't worry, Noriko!" Loki gave her a clap on the back. "You've got all the time in the world!"

Noriko simply nodded, then closed her eyes and fell to the side. She was stopped from hitting the ground by Drake, then decided it would be good to take a nap.

* * *

Despite the fact that several days had passed, Ryu still had not told Drake that she appreciated his special Skill, and that it had helped give her closure. She wanted to. However, she felt awkward discussing it with him, because she had overheard him making love to Erza. She had felt very strange when that had happened, so she had been unwilling to look for him when he was alone, for the risk of it happening again. It also felt too private-

"Finally!" Rei said triumphantly, rising to her feet suddenly. "The fomoire are all fuckin' dead," she declared, bouncing in place. "We can go the fuck home without some Freya familia psycho trying to kill us."

"Wonderful!" Erza agreed. "I can finally be reunited with my co-wives!" She turned to Astraea, who was wearing a gentle smile. "Not that I have not greatly enjoyed your company and your kindness."

"Oh, it's nothing," Astraea said. "I'm just glad to be able to see my Ryu again." Astraea gently reached out for Ryu, her hand clasping Ryu's cheek, and Ryu felt a heat bloom in her cheeks as her goddess met her eyes. "Live a happy life, Ryu," she said, giving a soft kiss to Ryu's forehead. "I hope to come visit and meet your friends soon enough," she added.

"Ah- thank you, my goddess."

"I may not be your goddess forever," Astraea said, giving Ryu a playful wink. Ryu felt her cheeks burn at that comment, too. Astraea had unlocked her falna, Just in case. Ryu could join any familia in Orario, with the status of a Level Five... but to be honest, she didn't wish to. She had enjoyed her quiet life at the Hostess of Fertility. Besides, the Guild considered her persona non grata - few familias would want to put up with the trouble she'd bring.

"You will always be my goddess," Ryu told her.

"Cool, cool," Rei said. "Stop blabbing and get ready!" She demanded, suddenly breaking any character. "I want to go fucking home! Me and Thirteen have basically had our asses sticking out of a goddamn window the whole time we've been out here! All I am will vanish in a puff of smoke if I have to disincorporate, and there's a lot more of a unique 'me' than Seven had!"

"Ah. My apologies," Astraea said. "I had not considered your unique situation. Farewell, then," she said, with a small bow of her head, not even inquiring as to who Thirteen and Seven were. "I'll see you, Ryu," Astraea added, her voice soft, as Ryu rose to her feet.

* * *

It was less than an hour later that everything was packed up and getting dragged along by Erza. Ryu followed along with the others. She considered Drake, as they began to march. Something about his face felt subtly different somehow. She stared quietly at it, trying to locate the particular detail, but no single thing stood out. It was the same size and coloration as well, so what was so different? The difference did make him look better, whatever it was.

"Ryu?" Drake asked. "Something on my face?"

Ryu felt her cheeks suddenly flush, and her eyes turned to set ahead of her. "I wanted to say... thank you," she said. "Your Skill... it provided me a final chance to see my old friends again, and it helped me realize that they would want me to be happy."

"Oh," Drake responded. "Well. I'm glad I could help," he said, and she felt the heat in her cheeks get more intense.

Honesty was important. "The reason that I did not tell you earlier, is that when I went to your room to tell you the first time, I heard you and Erza making love."

Drake let out an awkward bark of laughter at that. "Oh. Sorry about that."

"No, I should apologize," Ryu said, though she wasn't sure why. It just felt true. Drake stared at her for a long second or two. "Sorry," she said, at last, assuming that was why he was staring at her.

"What for? I mean, Erza and I are, ah, pretty active, it's really not your fault you overheard us. It's the same as at the camp."

"...perhaps," Ryu said, quietly, though she didn't believe it. Drake decided to let it go, just nodding and turning his attention back to the road.

A few minutes later, Rei came up to her. "Hey, Ryu," she said. "I can totally help you out with Drake."

"Hmm?" Ryu responded. She didn't understand what Rei was suggesting at all. She had said what she needed to say.

"You know, c'mon," Rei said, with a slick smile. She gave Ryu a wink. "You need a wingman."

"A... wingman?" Rei could turn into a bird. Did this refer to some technique related to that? She didn't see how it could help her with Drake.

"Well, wingwoman. C'mon."

"I have no idea what you are talking about."

"Wha... you know. You want some help, getting in Drake's pants."

Ryu blinked a few times at that statement, as she processed it. For a moment, she thought that Rei meant she would need assistance getting into Drake's trousers, in the sense that they would be too large for her. Then she realized what Rei actually meant, and her face flooded with heat. "I do not need any such thing," she said, snapping.

"Going it alone doesn't get you any dubs, c'mon."

"I do not... wish to do that with Drake."

"Oh come on. You get all weak in the knees when you hear him banging Erza, you're getting all flushed up talking to him, you're totally into him. No need to hide it, we're all girls here."

"I am not 'into him'," Ryu said, her voice firm.

Rei just stared at her for a second before speaking. "Oh my God you have the emotional intelligence of a rotten tangerine."

Ryu couldn't help but feel like those words sounded similar to ones that Syr had said to her at some point, years ago. She just shook her head and turned her attention back to the road.

Rei scoffed. "Don't ignore me!" Her demand went unfulfilled.

* * *

Aisha found many points of Drake to be appealing - particularly how he treated Haruhime, but also his physique. He was an oddity. Most men with many wives were boisterous, aggressive, masculine to the extreme. Their women were status symbols to them, accoutrements to denote their male pride. While Drake was physically very impressive... she looked his way.

He had recently emerged from the shower, and was only half-dressed, looking rather tired at the moment - she had been with him in the shower, after all. His physique was quite something - muscular, well-built, and he was tall, coming in at 6'3". Certainly, he was her type in terms of physique. His manhood was on the higher end of things, but not so much that it was uncomfortable. He had short, dark hair, unkempt in general and particularly now, but he made it work. He appeared to be effortlessly sexy, in that way - she certainly had never noticed him paying much attention to his clothes or hair, but both came off as appealing despite it. She supposed he was just the sort that was blessed by the gods with good looks. Haruhime was one, too, though perhaps cursed was more accurate in her case.

But Drake, for all that he exuded that kind of dominant masculinity in terms of physicality, was a very different person on the inside. Thoughtful, quiet, considerate. He had no real vices; even if one included sex, he had only had sex with two people he was not currently married to, so far as she knew. As one of those two people, she was fairly certain that he would rather that he had sex with zero people that he was not currently married to, even if he hadn't said so aloud. He didn't drink, do drugs, seek out fights (unless one counted the entire crime fighting affair in Daedalus Street; though that seemed a stretch), spend his money frivolously.

Did she like it? Was it appealing? Mm... well, it certainly wasn't unappealing. Which left her contemplating him again. She had heard from Lady Loki that those who loved him - and sincerely confessed that love - would gain an enormous advantage in Leveling. She could see that clearly enough, from having watched Haruhime's status climb despite being a back-bencher. Did she love him? No, not yet. But she liked him, and she could see that there was plenty to love. There was a spark there to ignite with time and effort - this wasn't a man who had no appeal to her.

"Ah, just a moment, goshujinsama," the ebony girl - Julia, was what Drake said her name was - said. "I almost forgot to do something," she explained, reaching into the closet and collecting some dark flesh-toned onahole from it. She squished and squeezed it, toying and playing with it, grinning as she did so. One could see a certain sadistic glint in her eyes, as if the toy in her hands was alive. Then she positioned herself so her back was to Aisha, and did one last thing to it.

Aisha probably wouldn't have been able to recognize the movement, if she hadn't committed it to memory. It was the same strike that Drake had used to send her into that coma, when she foolishly had opposed him. The same strike that he used on that criminal with the gauntlets.

"Done!" Julia declared, toying absently with the onahole in her hands.

Perhaps it was just a show. But the skin tone of the onahole... was the same as Ishtar's own. She couldn't help but imagine. "May I play with that?" Aisha asked. "It looks fun."

"Ah! Sure," Julia agreed, tossing it to Aisha without a care in the world. Aisha caught it easily. It was warm. Fleshy. Its surface felt like skin; its lips felt like lips; its tongue, even, felt like a tongue. Aisha couldn't help but smile. This was her old goddess. She didn't know how, but this was what she had been reduced to. A fitting end, for what she had tried to do to Haruhime. "Just don't lose it, okay? It's really precious, me and Rei put a lot of work into making it!"

"I'm sure you did," Aisha agreed. "Drake," she said, and the man lazily raised his head. "Flip over. I want to... pleasure you with this," she explained, holding the onahole in her hand. She put Julia's presence, somewhere in the room, out of her mind for the moment.

"Sure." Drake turned over, rolling his shoulders for a moment. Aisha leaned over him, pulling down his pants, enjoying as his cock popped free. It was quite hard, and given where his eyes were roaming, and her state of undress - she'd only wore a towel to this room, and hadn't yet bothered to get properly dressed - she knew what was responsible for that. She took hold of his cock with one hand, the other grasping Ishtar tight in her hand. Mouth or cunt? Well, with the size Ishtar now was, it would be simple enough for him to fuck right through one and emerge from the other, so she angled the pussy downward, slamming it right down his cock roughly.

She was sure her former goddess couldn't feel a thing. That didn't change how pleasant it was, to see that bitch reduced to this. She squeezed the onahole tight around Drake's cock, enjoying the way he gasped in response, his length twitching inside the thing. "Feels good, doesn't it?" She asked him. "Using this onahole... do you get a lot of use out of it?" She asked him, almost purring.

"Ah... mostly with Julia or Haruhime," he explained, as she started to gently stroke him off. "It helps Haruhime, since she doesn't have to touch me directly." Aisha squeezed the toy again, as if to punish Ishtar. Ishtar had been the one to take that pure, sweet girl, and turn her into an androphobe unable to even handle her own husband's naked body, despite the love she clearly felt for him.

Aisha squished the onahole down, pressing it forward, enjoying watching the flesh fold and mush against itself, revealing the top inch or two of Drake's cock as it burst forth from between Ishtar's lips. A pink tongue was visible behind dark, chocolate-shaded lips, and Aisha leaned forward, flicking her tongue against the very tip of his cock. He groaned softly in response, and she started to suckle at it, staring up at him. She did like that expression he made, when he was on the receiving end of pleasure - but she always liked that sort of expression, in any case. It gave a certain thrill of uniquely feminine power. She sucked harder, cheeks hollowing around his cock, and he just gasped in reply.

When she popped off, she started to jerk him off, smiling up at him as she slid the toy up and down his length, faster and faster. "It's a very nice onahole. It lubricates itself, doesn't it?"

"Yeah. Rei's a genius," he added, a note of deflection to his choice of words.

"Certainly," Aisha agreed. She squeezed the thing tight around his cock, grinning as she did so, continuing to slide it up and down, though slower now, as its insides pressed against his cock. If he wanted to pretend this was just a sex toy - well, she certainly couldn't complain. It was just a sex toy, now. Ishtar, the cruel goddess and tyrant, was now reduced to this. She smiled as she contemplated that, and Drake just breathed out, leaning up, his hands coming for her breasts. She let him grasp them, enjoyed the feeling of his fingers sliding across the flesh, finding her nipples and starting to gently rub them.

As if to reward him, she squished the onahole down again, mashing her lips up against its own, practically kissing her former goddess in the process. Not that she minded. Stealing a kiss from Ishtar in this context was more humiliating to Ishtar than anything else, which made it particularly delicious. She even pretended to be making out with Ishtar, in the process rubbing her tongue all along the underside of Drake's cock, his hands tensing up from the sensations. She grinned up at him, though the position wasn't the best to get a good look at him - she reached up for his shoulder, gently directing him back down. She wanted to be able to enjoy the sight of him. He was handsome, after all.

He got the meaning without her having to pop her lips off his cock, and dutifully laid back down on his back, as his hands continued to cup and tease her breasts. She salivated and licked around the underside of his cock, as she held the onahole tight in her grasp, squishing and squeezing it around his length. Drool filled the cavity beneath her - the cavity that was Ishtar. She wanted to spit on it. In fact...

She leaned back, and spat on it, her spit colliding with Drake's cock and Ishtar alike, splattering and smearing across the dark surface. She played with the thing maliciously, mistreated it as she spat on it again and again, imagining the fullness of Ishtar's face around the stretched-wide lips, made her feel a vindictive sense of self-satisfaction, before she dove right back down onto his cock, sucking on it hard, staring at him as she practically jerked him off with what amount of space her hand had.

His hands continued to gently caress her breasts, while she continued to lick and slobber on his cock, staring up at him with smoldering lust. She wanted him to come so very badly. She wanted him to come all over the inside of Ishtar, in particular. That thought was exciting to her, particularly, and she twisted and swiveled her hand around his length, further stimulating his cock as she stared into his eyes, staring with intensity with every passing moment, panting around his cock as she trembled with lust, his hands continuing to fondle her.

He groaned, and she could feel his orgasm approaching. Ordinarily, she happily would have swallowed every last drop - but not today. She peeled the onahole up as her mouth popped off, then squished the far end, distorting the last remnant of Ishtar's face, her lips looking absurd as her boneless body twisted around his cock. She shivered in naked lust and raw sadistic delight as she saw what her goddess had been reduced to. Drake orgasmed at that point, splattering the inside of the haughty goddess of fertility with hot cum. Her smile remained steady, vivacious, sadistic. Perhaps Ishtar had imagined making love to Drake, if they had successfully taken him - but certainly, not like this.

When Drake was spent, Aisha simply tossed the onahole in Julia's direction. Julia caught it, taking it with a broad smile all her own. "Ahh, thank you, Aisha! I'll get to eat goshujinsama's cum out of it this way," she added, twisting the thing around to do exactly that.

Aisha didn't care, and ignored the slurping noises Julia was now making. Audience or no audience, her focus was on her partner, and she was horny and wanted to fuck him properly again. All that play with the onahole once known as Ishtar was just foreplay. She positioned herself atop him, placing herself cowgirl on his cock, and slamming herself down his length, letting out a shuddering sigh of pleasure at the sensation. His hands slid across her naked body, with soft touches and obvious, undisguised interest, and she couldn't help but grin. He was certainly a very attentive lover.

* * *

Hestia let out a sigh as she flopped down on the bed that Hephaistos had provided for her. She'd tried to find a familia member! She really had! She'd gone up to people and demanded, Join my familia! When they found out that they would be a familia of one, though, they all rejected her!

(Most of them rejected her even before that, because most people didn't want to become adventurers and get chewed up by the Dungeon, and the ones who did, mostly had already joined a familia.)

She screamed into her pillow. "Dammittttt!" Her legs kicked futilely at the air, as if her many would-be familia members were right in kicking range and getting the kicks they deserved. She was still angry when she finished screaming, so she repeated the screaming process several more times. "Stupid idiots!" She yelled at the pillow again. She rolled over onto her back, letting out a long sigh as she stared at the ceiling.

All that work... for nothing. It was just like Heaven! You processed a soul, then you processed another soul, then you processed another soul, and what did you get? Nothing! There were always just more souls! Mortals couldn't stop dying. And they couldn't stop rejecting her, either. She let out a long sigh. If she could just have one familia member! Just one! She'd be able to make a go of it! But how could she get a familia member?!