2.8: Lucy
There had been well over 1,000 gold piled in the room, and we were still carefully analyzing the magical items as we walked towards the exit to the dungeon. The best find was a worn tome that had a variety of spells that were both powerful and deadly. Once we reached the edge of the City of the Damned, I had the others stop.
“So… I know things went a completely different way that I had anticipated and you didn’t get to do as much fighting, but what do you guys think? You gonna keep playing?”
They each turned to one another before turning back to me.
“Even if we didn’t get to kick as much ass as you… today has been absolutely awesome! I was saving up for a few new computer parts for my baby back home… but I’m going to spring for a N-Vision once we’re done.”
“I may not be able to afford a new one, but my friend was offering to sell me his for a reasonable price a few weeks ago. I’ll check with him to see if he still has it. I agree with Blaine. Today was fucking amazing. Watching your character was even better than watching the demo. You really are a badass.”
“Awww, thanks Tifa. Ghost, Areandra, what about you guys?”
“Well, I already own an N-Vision, so… this just confirmed that I need to get me a copy of Holy Damnation.”
I smiled at the Dark Priest and turned to Areandra.
“You are a hell of a shot, it would be a shame to lose someone that awesome.”
She blushed and nodded.
“I own an N-Vision too… and I actually have a copy of Holy Damnation. I just never played it before today. I was debating on returning it, but after today I’m definitely going to keep playing.”
“I am so glad to hear that! I was worried that the whole army corruption thing was a bit boring for you guys. I- And now I’m rambling. What I meant to say was, how’d you like to join my clan?”
I sent them each a clan invite and they all accepted within seconds.
“Lost and the Damned huh… I like.”
“Well, wait til you see our clan HQ.”
I led them to the castle and they marveled at it from the outside. Going inside was like watching kids open up new gifts on Christmas day, and their excitement was obvious. Tesrif greeted me upon passing through the entryway, and I smiled warmly at her. Judas offered to show them around the rest of the castle after I requested a moment alone with my new general. I led her to our fully outfitted armory that had taken a large chunk of our clan’s gold, and grinned at her with an excited smile.
“Tesrif, remove your armor. I have a surprise for you.”
I could see the hesitance in her face and the fear as her hands trembled and I placed my hand on her arm.
“Relax.”
That single word issued as a command took effect instantly, and I saw a wave of calm pass over her face. She removed her armor and placed it on the ground in front of her. Even through the chainmail shirt and leggings I could see the bright white scars that covered her skin. She flinched as I touched her bare arm and I gave her the same one word command.
“It takes a real sicko for someone to do that to his own sister.”
I turned to face the person speaking and my face lit up as I saw Emelia. She ran over and embraced me, and I kissed her forehead softly.
“Judas filled me in on everything that happened. Tesrif, it’s an honor to meet you. My name is Emelia.”
She bowed deeply, kneeled, and saluted.
“The pleasure is all mine, Lady Emelia.”
Emelia sighed softly and reached down to touch the warrior’s arm.
“Stand. I am not your superior. While I appreciate the respect, there’s only one demon lord in this room.”
Tesrif stood and gave Em a small smile. Her blue hair had been combed so that it hid half of her face, and Emelia gently brushed the hair out of her face.
“You really are beautiful, Tesrif.”
She pulled away from Emelia’s hand and shook her head.
“No… my brother made sure of that.”
I sighed through my nose and pulled away from my girlfriend.
“You are beautiful. Your brother could never do anything to take away from that. I am ordering you to accept that.”
I could tell she wanted to argue, but the enchantment magic that enabled my Corruption ability was incredibly powerful and she nodded slowly.
“Did you bring me here to compliment me, or was there something else you required, Lady Allexus?”
I had half a mind to tell her to mind her tone, but the last thing I wanted was to do or say something that Mellic would have. Instead I smiled and pointed to a simple suit of armor that the blacksmith had included when we purchased the supplies for our forge and armory. Tesrif’s eyes opened widely and she ran over to the armor excitedly.
“This is Hellforged Obsidian. The craftsmanship is excellent… Wearing this into battle would offer substantial protection.”
“I’m glad you like it… because it’s yours.”
“Wha-but- I couldn’t possibly accept this, my lady. It’s too much.”
I narrowed my eyes and folded my arms over my chest.
“You are the general of my army… you think I want you running around in anything less than the best? How would it look to my enemies for my general to show up wearing that metal hunk of junk you called armor?”
She thought about what I had said and nodded.
“Thank you so much, my lady. I will wear it with pride.”
“Excellent. Now, equip it and meet Judas in the forge room. He’s going to modify it to fit you better. I’m also going to be sending my enchanter along with you to cast whatever enchantments you think would make it better.”
The look of surprise and excitement on her face grew as she equipped the dark-gray armor. I summoned my enchanter and ordered him to accompany Tesrif to the forge room and cast whatever enchantments she wanted on her armor that were within his capabilities. The two exited and I let out a huge sigh.
“Come on, sexy lady… let’s retire to the boudoir for a bit.”
“Wow… I’m online for 10 minutes and you already want to jump my bones…”
“If I had the energy for that… that sounds awesome. But using my Corruption ability as much as I did wiped me out.”
“I thought you were supposed to be this indomitable demon lord with the sex drive of a thousand nymphs! Next you’re gonna tell me you’re not in the mood cause you have a headache…”
I laughed and rolled my eyes at her. I moved to scoop her up with a swift motion and my arms went through her incorporeal form. She giggled and jumped into my arms and I lifted her higher so that her legs were wrapped around my torso.
“Your new body makes it rather difficult to grab you, ya know…”
“Eh. You still love me. Oh um… I mean-”
“Stop. You’re right… I do.”
“Wait what? I mean… you do? I didn’t even mean to say that… it just slipped out.”
“Are you saying you didn’t mean it? Or didn’t mean to just blurt it out?”
She thought for a moment and smiled down at me from her perch in my arms.
“I didn’t mean to say it yet, because I was afraid you would freak out if I did. But I did mean it... Because I definitely love you too! I know it’s partly that ‘happy fun lust-filled exciting new relationship’ kind of love, but I also feel in my heart like I’ve found someone that makes me feel complete.”
My emotions swirled and I blushed furiously as I kissed her softly.
“I feel exactly the same way, Emily. I love the sex, and I love the silliness, and I love the company, but most of all… I love the way you make me feel like the most important person in the world. Maybe we’re both crazy… but I know one thing for certain: I love you.”
I moved a few steps forward with her still in my arms and pinned her against the wall. My character’s body may have been utterly exhausted… but it also had an nigh insatiable sex drive that made my fatigue feel trivial. Plus my girlfriend had just told me she loved me, and that alone was enough to spark an intense arousal within me.
I planted a small peck on Emily’s lips before trailing light kisses down her neck and stopping just below her collarbone. I pawed at the edge of her white robe, looking for an opening so I could strip her out of it, but Emily playfully smacked my hand away. Every attempt I made to undress her was met with a teasing smack, and I growled in frustration. I stopped trying to disrobe her and looked up and smirked at her as an idea popped into my head. She cocked her head to the side to show she was curious what I was up to, but I merely stuck my tongue out at her. I waved my hand and her clothing shimmered and evaporated. The look of surprise on her face was completely worth it.
“How the- Oh you bitch! That’s totally not fair.”
She smirked at me in return and it was my turn to be surprised as she ghosted through my hands. She dropped to the floor and I shivered at the odd sensation as she ran through me.
“Hey, get back here!”
She ran and leapt up as if she was going to jump into my arms, but she phased through my body again and playfully giggled behind me.
As she darted around the room, I realized that I couldn’t catch her by going about it the way I was. As long as she willed it, my hands would continually pass through her incorporeal body. I stopped moving and used my ability to summon her as one of my minions. She disappeared from the spot she was standing on the opposite side of the room and appeared directly in front of me. She made a move to dart away, and I waved my hand to summon her back. We did this a few times before she sighed in exasperation.
“It seems we’re at an impasse, Lady Allexus. You can’t touch me… but I also can’t get away from you. How are we ever going to resolve this stalemate?”
“I would think not standing nude in the armory would be a good place to start… not that I’m complaining. Even with your skin that ghostly white you still look damn good, Em.”
She squeaked and we both turned to face the entrance. Ikelos and the others had gathered and were watching with looks of amusement. I waved my hand and Emelia’s clothing reappeared on her body.
“Awww, I guess the show’s over then… So… Unless either of you plan on doing another stripper routine, are you guys able to help us sort through those magical items we got?”
I laughed through my nose and nodded to him.
“Let’s take a look. I really wanna know what that tome is all about. Although… Judas is the go-to for game info.”
I didn’t want to summon Judas if he was in the middle of adjusting Tesrif’s armor or forging her new sword, so I summoned Pain.
“Mistress! I missed you so much!”
He grabbed my leg and clung on like his life depended on it. I cocked my eyebrow at him as he looked up at me, and he released me and stood at a sloppy attention.
“Head to the forge room and see if Judas is available for a few minutes. Tell him it’s not urgent, but just to get here when he can.”
“Right away Mistress! I’ll tell his ‘royal prissy pants’ the boss wants to see him.”
I rolled my eyes and was about to send him off when I thought of a question that had been nagging me.
“Just a random question… when I dismiss you back to the castle, where do you and your brother hang out? I never see you guys unless I summon you.”
“We have found a secret hiding spot above your bedroom where we can watch you and the frigid bitch get it on.”
I narrowed my eyes at him and he scampered off into the hallway as he howled with laughter.
“God… what a little brat. He reminds me of Aaron when we were younger. He was always doing stuff to embarrass me or get me in trouble.”
We all laughed and began inspecting the various magical items. After about ten minutes Judas joined us with the tiny winged black demon in tow. He studied each item, turning it and looking at it from every angle before giving us a brief description of what the item was and what it could do.
“This tome is incredibly rare. I don’t know how Denoches got his hands on it, but this thing is worth a sizable fortune. It has hundreds of spells that are as intricate as they are deadly.”
He thumbed through the pages for a second before turning the book and handing it to Ikelos.
“This one would be of great use to you. As a beast summoner this spell would be amazing in your arsenal.”
Ikelos read the page a few times and we all watched as the page started to glow. After a few seconds the glowing faded and the words on the page disappeared. He stood up and excitedly read through his skill menu before casting the spell with one of his hands. His hand lit up with an ultraviolet light and a small feminine form with leathery bat wings appeared in his palm. The tiny creature was laying down as if she had been sleeping and she looked up at Ikelos and yawned. In a voice that was high pitched and childlike she questioned the large face looming in front of her.
“Who’re you?”
He lifted the tiny fairy-like creature up to his face and spoke quietly.
“I could ask you the same thing… According to the spell I was supposed to have summoned a... ‘Soulbound Spellcaster with the power to obliterate my foes with a single spell.’ I’ve learned not to judge someone based upon how they look… so I guess you’re the powerful spellcaster?”
She laughed like he had said something hysterical and pounded her tiny fists against his hand as she doubled over in laughter. After a moment she recovered from her laughing fit and wiped her eyes before explaining.
“The person who wrote that book has to have a pretty hilarious sense of humor. I can cast spells… but I’m nowhere near as powerful as what that spell description says.”
“If you’re not the powerful spellcaster then what are you?
Tifa moved very close to Ikelos’s hand and grinned widely at the tiny creature.
“She’s a Dark Pixie.”
The small female stood up and stuck her tongue out at Tifa.
“Know it all... Yes, I’m a Dark Pixie. My name is Lucifer.”
I snorted in laughter and scoffed loudly. I heard the others snicker as well and the tiny Pixie’s face reddened in anger.
“Lucifer... really?”
“Oh… don’t you even start with that fallen angel lord of hell bullshit. I have spent thousands of years trying to get rid of those stupid rumors, but obviously they’re still talking about me in hushed tones like I’m evil incarnate…”
“Wait… are you telling me that all the stories we’ve heard about Lucifer... the Devil… are about you?!”
“Ugh… the same person who wrote that joke you call a spell to summon me is the same prankster who spread those idiotic rumors about me. We had this sort of love/hate relationship… in that we loved to hate on each other...“
I scoffed again as I pictured this tiny fairy girl as the dark lord of hell and the very definition of pure evil. I snickered softly and shook my head.
“So… you may not be a powerful spellcaster or live up to the rumors that we've heard about you being the king of all the circles of Hell, but what exactly can you do?”
Lucifer crossed her arms over her chest and glared at me.
“Who the fuck are you to question me? You're not the one who summoned me… he is. You’re just a perverted futanari succubus with a body made from weird enchantment magic.”
Wait...what? Only my original clanmates knew of my body's origin, and it would take powerful magic detection to sense the enchantments woven into my demon form. Despite her claims of being not very powerful, she obviously had abilities that were far superior to most beings. Instead of showing her my surprise I ignored her comment and turned to Ikelos.
“Lucifer, would you mind telling me a little more about your abilities?”
“So… it’s not that I’m avoiding the question… I actually don’t remember what I can do. Everytime I try to think of a different spell I keep drawing a blank.”
Tifa’s body shifted and twisted, becoming smaller and smaller. She completed her change in midair and fluttered in place with her tiny wings. She flitted over to Ikelos’s hand and stood next to Lucifer. Other than the streaks of white that ran through Lucifer’s hair, the two Dark Pixies were so alike they may as well be sisters. Lucifer moved very close to Tifa and almost stood nose to nose.
“Am I the only one who is having a cute overload right now?”
Both Pixies looked at Emelia and flipped her off. The rest of us laughed and moved closer to inspect the tiny pair. Tifa opened her skill menu and showed it to Lucifer.
“This is the list of spells and abilities I know at my level in my Dark Pixie form. Anything ringing any bells?”
Lucifer pursed her lips and raised her hands like she was going to cast a spell. A miniscule spark appeared in front of her hand and winked out after a second.
“Dammit! Nothing... ”
“Don’t worry about it, Lucy… I’m sure you’ll figure it out. For now I’m happy to have summoned a Dark Pixie ally. We’ll figure out what you can do as we go. Sound good?”
“That’s very undemonic of you. But thank y- Wait a minute… Did you call me Lucy?”
“Ummm yes?”
“Oh… I get it… Lucy being a derivative of Lucifer. Hmmm… I like it.”
The others chatted with “Lucy” for a bit while I stowed a few of the other magical items that Judas had identified. Something about the Pixie rubbed me the wrong way. To say nothing of her ability to sense the enchantment magic in my body or how she knew about my extra attachment, I couldn’t shake the feeling there was so much more to her than what we were seeing. For now I would play nice… but I would also keep a close eye on her whenever she was around. While my new companions logged out to head back to the campus or the game store, Emelia and I headed back to our bedroom.