3.81: Temper
Crimson eyes locked onto mine as I pushed past the entrance to the throne room. I stared back at the love of my life as she held an outstretched hand over the half-charred body of Ikelos. Red flames poured from her palm and licked at the motionless figure at her feet. A warm grin spread across her face as she saw me, but it looked extremely out of place with her blood-soaked features and the brutality of what she was doing.
“My love! I’m so happy to see you! Have you come to join in on the fun? I’m teaching this stupid fuck the reasons he shouldn’t have messed with my goddamn mind!”
I did my best to hide the shudder of revulsion that happened out of reflex, but it was obvious from the way she shifted suddenly that she had noticed. She stopped channeling the spell as she narrowed her eyes at me. She took a single step towards me before letting her hands drop to her sides. While she appeared to be calm and relaxed, I could see the tension in her muscles.
“Is there a problem, my love?”
I let out a long slow exhale and did my best to force a smile onto my lips.
“No. I just do not understand the purpose of attacking an enemy who is so obviously beaten and clearly inferior to you.”
The tension in her body released as she began to move across the room with a huge grin on her face.
“He thought he could get away with fucking with my mind! Such a thing deserves a swift punishment. Surely Empress Infernos is no stranger to putting people in their place.”
I did my best to remain calm as the much taller woman moved close to me and wrapped me in a tight hug. While normally not one to shy away from a little blood, Allexus positively reeked of it. I ignored the stench of death that hung around her as she bent her neck down and pulled me into a deep kiss. My brain reacted instinctively to the affection from my lover, and I immediately melted into the embrace. I was brought to my senses when Allexus bit my bottom lip playfully with her fangs hard enough to draw blood. She pulled away from me and licked her lips with a low sensual moan.
“God… you taste amazing. I will never grow tired of kissing you, Gehenna.”
Part of me wanted to relax and accept this strange part of the woman I love, but the odd intonation in her voice and the way her smile didn’t show through in her eyes reminded me that this was not my lover. Sensing something was amiss, Allexus narrowed her eyes again and studied me carefully.
“Why are you uncomfortable, my love?”
“I… I do not like the brutality of what you are doing and the way you are treating your friends.”
Allexus’s grip on my waist tightened as her eyebrows knitted and her lips pursed. She scoffed loudly and shook her head in anger.
“They aren’t my friends, Gehenna. They are Allie’s friends. They love her, and they respect her. To them… I’m nothing more than a way for them to get stronger.”
She paused for a moment before pulling away from me and taking a step back. Despite the fury pouring off of her, I could still hear the pain in her voice as she spoke.
“Even you aren’t truly in love with me… You are in love with her. It’s always ‘Allie this’ and ‘Allie that.’ As soon as you learned her name you stopped using mine.”
“But you are her, Allexus! You are a part of the woman I love!”
A low growl issued from her throat and her lip quivered into a faint sneer.
“No, I’m not. I am not some weak human girl who falls in love with someone they hardly know. I’m not naive enough to believe that everything is sunshine and rainbows, and I understand that not everything will work out the way I want it to. I’m willing to do what it takes to protect those I love. I’m willing to kill anyone, do anything to keep you and Emelia safe. Even if they are nothing but playthings to me… I am still willing to risk my own wellbeing to protect and care for those Allie is too fucking weak to protect! I will go to any lengths to ensure that no harm comes to you or Emelia. And yet… despite all of that… You… don’t… love… ME!!!”
Explosions of searing red fire punctuated every word before completely surrounding her body, and I barely had time to react as Allexus leapt towards me. I snapped my fingers to summon my armor onto my body as I moved backwards, and held my hands up to block a series of punches aimed for my face. I desperately tried to think of a way to defuse this situation, to get back the small bit of calm that had so easily been broken. A jet of cold struck me in the ribs and I mentally channeled magic into my [Aura of Damnation] spell. Black fire began to radiate outwards from my body, which forced Allexus to retreat slightly. She summoned a white ball of energy into her hand and touched her metal breastplate. White flames mixed with the red ones in swirls of opposing magic, and just as she moved forward to attack I released the spell that I had been channeling. A column of dark coruscating fire burst from the ground beneath Allexus’s feet. She nimbly dodged out of the way, but was quickly enveloped by black flames as the second [Black Flames of Damnation] I cast struck her from below.
“Power Limiter release 60%!”
Heat raged through my veins and I felt my muscles swell with power as the fire contained within my body pushed its way out. I felt the ever present pulling sensation increase slightly as I drew more power from my [Souls of the Damned] ability. Just as the limiter release was settling, I was forced to roll out of the way of a crackling lance of purple energy. The wall behind me exploded in a shower of stone and sparks, but I ignored it as I continued my roll and jumped back to my feet, readying myself for the next attack. I looked at the angry pain-filled expression on Allexus’s face as she rushed at me again with a sword drawn, and I couldn’t stop the sinking feeling in my mind from taking hold.
I enjoyed fighting most of the time. I loved pitting myself against strong opponents and using the skills I had honed to a razor's edge. I loved feeling the rush that only comes from combat where death is a very possible outcome. More than anything, I reveled in the sensation of really going all out, with nothing held back. But this? This fight against the darker half of the woman I loved with all of my heart? I wanted nothing to do with it. It hurt me to see how deeply Allexus took what she perceived as my rejection of her. And the more I considered her words, the more I realized she was right. I really had done my best to see my lover as Allie, human gamer, and not the epitome of feminine demonhood she also was. Of course Allexus would feel spurned by me… I had all but told her that I was only in love with her human side.
I had been so preoccupied with the swirling doubt in my mind that I barely had time to dodge out of the way of a small torrent of spells. Pain flared from my right side and I felt something in my leg snap as I was pushed off my feet from the force of the explosions. Before I could recover, Allexus was on me with both of her swords poised to strike. She swung both at me with a quick downward motion, but I was able to channel enough magic into my shielding spell at the last second to avoid the worst of it.
I growled in anger as I realized that I was letting my own personal feelings dictate my actions. Regardless of the reasons behind it, if I didn’t take this fight seriously and give it my all, I knew Allexus wouldn’t hesitate for even a second to end me. As I pushed off the ground with one of my arms to try and get some space between us, I used my other to reach up to the enchanted choker around my neck. I pressed the deactivator runes and screamed in a combination of pain and determination from the massive surge of fire that blasted out of me. I felt the bones in my leg instantly knit and the pain I had felt ebbed away within seconds. I inhaled deeply as the rush of power flowed into me and took the smallest fraction of a second to let it settle within me before I vaulted backwards with a single strong shove and landed on my feet.
Instead of the lingering feelings of confusion that had plagued my mind, I felt the familiar tingle of excitement creeping up my spine as I studied my opponent in front of me. This was someone worthy of going all out, someone I had to give it my all in order to succeed. While I instinctively knew this was the woman that I loved, I also recognized that she was a deadly threat that needed to be contained. I would try not to go so far as to kill her… but no matter what happened, I was going to show her just how wrong she was for challenging me.
“[Angel of Damnation]! [Damnation’s Scorching Torrent]!”
Fiery wings sprouted from my back as I leapt backwards and I used the momentum to push me higher into the air. A heat so intense I could feel it through my armor filled the room as my magic surged out of me. Allexus spread her wings and launched herself off the ground, both of her hands channeling a spell. As she flew towards me, I used the small opening to unleash a trio of spells.
“[Twin Infernos of Damnation]! [Flame Lance]! [Scorching Wind]!
Small motes of black fire began to fall like rain, exploding whenever they struck anything. A pair of black fiery orbs hurtled towards Allexus, while thin spears made of swirling orange and black flames blasted from my outstretched fingertips. To my surprise, Allexus made no attempt to dodge any of my attacks, and instead released her own spells at the same time. Chains burst out of a nearby wall and shot towards me with dizzying speed before spearing me in the side. Due to my sudden lack of mobility, I was only able to jerk in place slightly in an attempt to dodge another beam of purple energy. The attack struck me in the shoulder, leaving a gaping hole the size of my fist. I grit my teeth and pushed past the pain as I reached behind me and took hold of the mass of chains that had buried themselves just below my ribcage. I channeled my magic into melting through the chains and used my other hand to summon a magical barrier to block the stream of spells and projectiles Allexus was hurling at me. As soon as I felt the metal begin to soften in my grasp, I focused my strength and was easily able to pull the near molten metal apart.
I looked up to see that Allexus was in the process of channeling huge amounts of magic. I was no stranger to her World Tier spell, so I used the one gambit I was hoping to avoid.
“[Void Sphere]!”
A shockwave of power pulsed through the room as a giant shimmering dark blue sphere surrounded both of us. It quickly expanded so that it filled the entirety of the throne room, and the effects of it were instantaneous. The magical wings on my back disappeared and any lingering traces of magical energy from our earlier exchange dissipated into nothingness. With nothing to sustain my flight, I immediately started to fall back towards the floor. I had known the consequences of using such a spell while in mid-air, and now I was going to pay with a massive chunk of my remaining health. Just before the moment of impact, I summoned up every ounce of strength I could muster and slammed both of my fists down onto the ground to try and redirect some of the force of the fall. Shards of stone and a cloud of dust surrounded me as I landed hard. While I had successfully avoided breaking either of my legs, the bones in my left arm were shattered along with multiple compound fractures.
The flutter of wings nearby brought my attention back to the fight and I looked up to see Allexus plummeting towards me at full-speed. Her magically summoned armor she had been wearing had disappeared and left her in a simple padded undershirt and breeches. The right side of her body was charred, in some places all the way to the bone. As I forced myself to my feet I had just enough time to brace myself for the bone-crushing impact of her feet striking me in the chest. The bits of armor I had on cushioned the blow, but the sheer force of the attack was enough to destroy what little remained of it. I ignored everything around me as I focused all my energy on my strength and pushed off the ground with my bare feet. I used the momentum of Allexus's attack to vault backwards into a high arcing backflip. I managed to land on my outstretched palm and pushed off with all the strength I was able. I angled my body in midair so that I would land on my feet and the second I felt the ground against my skin I pushed off with the balls of my feet into another backflip. When I finally came to a stop, I was standing roughly 20 feet away from Allexus. She was staring at me with a smirk that looked completely out of place on her blood-soaked half-burned face.
“You really are amazing, Gehenna. You make fighting look so effortless. And you look damn good doing it. Only you could turn a deadly all-or-nothing attack into a graceful display of strength and agility.”
My cheeks warmed slightly from the unexpected comment and Allexus's smirk morphed into a full fanged grin.
“Allie is right about one thing… You are adorable when you blush like a schoolgirl.”
She held up the half-skeletal remains of her right arm and glanced at it for a few seconds, before dropping it to her side with a heavy sigh as she looked back at me.
“I can't win this fight. Even with your arm like that I know I don't stand a chance against you. My healing isn't working, I can't use my magic, and it's taking everything I have to not scream in agony from half my fucking body being burned to shit. And yet… I'm not ready to stop. Despite the context of everything, I am having fun. Fighting against you is exhilarating. You constantly surprise me with new moves and spells, and you make it look so fucking easy. If you didn't already know it, Gehenna, I want you to hear me now. I am so in love with you. You are everything I want in a mate. You are powerful, gorgeous, prideful, ruthless, cunning, and so goddamn smart.”
She paused for a moment and her shoulders drooped as a tear fell from her one good eye.
“Allie is so fucking lucky to have you.”
As she sank to her knees, I found myself running towards her at a full sprint before I realized I was moving. I wrapped my arms around her and held her tightly against me in a tight hug. Our faces were inches apart as I looked into her eyes.
“You are more like Allie than you know.”
Allexus stiffened and narrowed her eyes at me but I merely smiled and squeezed her good arm gently.
“Just like her, you are so smart, yet so incredibly dense at the same time. Yes… I am in love with the human side of Allie. But that was not what drew me to her, Allexus. The way you fight and the way you give everything you have to accomplish something or to right something you know is wrong, those are things that made me fall with you. When I said you are a part of the woman I love, I meant it.”
I sighed through my nose and pressed my forehead to hers.
“I got so caught up on everything, so swept off my feet that I didn't realize I was losing sight of all the reasons I fell in love with you. You are a demon with the soul of a human, and I am just as in love with the demonic side of you as I am your human side. And I need to make sure I never forget that. I am sorry for making you feel as if I do not love you, Allexus. Truly. From the bottom of my heart, I apologize. I do not expect you to forgive me, but just know I will do everything I can to make it up to you.”
Allexus surprised me by moving her face forward and pressing her lips to mine. Despite the kiss lasting only a couple of seconds and remaining completely chaste, I still felt the depth of her love in that embrace.
“Now who's being dense? Of course I forgive you, Gehenna. But… I’m still down for you making it up to me. In fact, I can think of a few ways you might do that.”
The absurdity of my lover coming on to me after such an intense fight was not lost on me, and both of us quickly found ourselves laughing so hard we were crying. After we recovered a bit, I kissed Allexus deeply and then stared deep into her crimson eyes.
“I know that everything that happened with your clanmates was just you acting out to get attention… but that is all the more reason to apologize to them. And I do not mean Allie apologizing for you. I mean you, Allexus. I also think that at some point, you need to find a way to communicate with your human half so that the two of you can reach some kind of understanding and come together again.”
Allexus gave me an incredulous look before rolling her eyes and laughing softly.
“If you can figure out a way to make it happen, I'll at least attempt it… But only because you want me to.”
I nodded my head slowly and kissed her softly on the lips. After a few quiet moments I pulled back slightly and stared at Allexus.
“If I drop the Void Sphere, are you going to behave?”
“Define ‘behave.’”
I glared at her for a moment before she held up her good arm to indicate her surrender. She smirked at me and stuck out her tongue.
“Fine! Yes… I’ll behave.”
I released my hold on the powerful anti-magic barrier and it felt like a tremendous weight suddenly lifting off my shoulders. The bones in my arm began to realign themselves and knit back together, and I held up my other arm and opened a portal to my castle. I helped Allexus to her feet and both of us walked through the magical gateway. The portal snapped closed behind us as we both stood in my bedroom, and I turned to face the much taller woman. She cocked an eyebrow and gave me a confused grin.
“I have no idea how to end the effects of Ikelos's ability. Like… I can feel the utter terror radiating from her, but I don't know how to pull her out of it.”
I thought for a moment before settling on an idea.
“Right now I think you being conscious is forcing Allie to remain unconscious and locked into the effects of the ability. With that in mind, I have a simple sleep spell I can cast on you. Normally it would not affect you at your current power, but if you let it happen it should work. That should put both of you back in sync and you can both wake up ‘together.’”
She shrugged and started to move towards the bed. Before she got too far I grabbed her arm gently.
“Perhaps it might be best if she were to awaken on the floor. I'm confident that when she wakes up she will be panicked and ready to defend herself. Last thing I need is to have to replace my bed.”
“Gehenna… if the vigorous fucking you, Emelia and I did on that bed didn't break it, I'm sure Allie won't be much of a threat to it.”
My cheeks flushed a bit at the brazen comment but I did my best to ignore them as I nodded my head. Allexus laid down on the bed and I channeled the small bit of magic required and was just about to cast the spell when she grabbed my hand.
“Thank you, Gehenna, for bringing me to my senses. I was acting like an angry toddler who wasn’t getting her way and throwing a temper tantrum. So… I'm sorry for that.”
“Considering you are only three weeks old, I say that kind of behavior is not completely out of character. Baby demons are so temperamental at your age. You just needed a good spanking to remind you who is in charge.”
Allexus's mouth dropped open in surprise and she held her hand to her chest in shock. Her cheeks turned red for a moment before returning to normal. After a moment she beamed up at me with a smile that lit up her whole face.
“My life is complete. I have seen my demon wife evolve into the true Empress of Snark and Sass.”