Chapter 58: Shame
Wednesday, April 6th, 4:20 PM
Dungeon Ciara
“Why?” Bruce pleaded weakly. He lacked the energy to struggle any longer.
His voice fell on deaf ears.
He’d returned to his room when Mike ordered him to take a break.
It was supposed to be a time to rest.
Now, Bruce lay immobile on his bed. He tried to speak again, but his strength failed him as he slipped toward unconsciousness.
“Rachel, what the hell are you doing?” Siobhán exclaimed as she and Joy burst through the door.
“You…” Rachel glared at Siobhán. She climbed off Bruce, their combined fluids leaking down her thighs as she growled and leaped toward Siobhán, raising her fists for a haymaker.
Joy and Siobhán both sidestepped and clothes-lined Rachel, knocking her prone before they restrained her.
“No!” Rachel shrieked. “I’m stronger than anyone! I—mm. Mm!”
Something had covered Rachel’s mouth, and she could be heard struggling to no avail.
Bruce felt his strength starting to return.
Siobhán looked up and spoke. “No, ProfCon. Tell him not to come. We’re fine. Yeah, I could tell. We’re safe. Yeah.”
What? Who’s she talking to? The Dungeon?
“You’re clearly mistaken, Rachel,” said Siobhán. “The Dungeon wants to know what the hell you’ve been doing to these men?”
Rachel got quiet.
“In a moment, Joy’s gonna remove her hand and we’ll let you speak. If you can calm down and talk, maybe we can figure this out.”
Siobhán sighed. “You’ve really pissed ProfCon off, woman. You do realize she’s not some timid professor anymore, right? She’s killed people for attacking the innocent, Rachel. And right now, Ciara O’Connor’s trying to determine whether you’re a threat to others.”
Rachel’s struggles stopped.
“Good. Just to let you know, we’re—when did your boobs get so big?” asked Siobhán.
“Uh, Sio…” Joy muttered.
“What?” asked Siobhán. Then she exclaimed, “what the hell is that?”
“Mm-M-m-mfths.”
“What?”
“MM-M-M-MFTHS!”
“Joy, let her talk.”
“It’s my clitoris.”
“Are you serious? It’s huge, like—”
“Like a small dick, I know. It works like one, too. Yeah, I have a class. I’m…” Rachel trailed off.
“You’re what?” asked Joy and Siobhán in unison.
Rachel took a deep breath, shut her eyes, then muttered, “A Succubus.”
Joy laughed nervously. “Come again? I thought I just heard you call yourself—”
Rachel raised her voice, “A Succubus.” She got quiet. “It’s true. If men finish in me, I temporarily drain some of their mana, and that lets me improve my body.”
Joy blurted out, “Seriously? That’s how you grew your tits and… that?”
“Yep. Everyone will recover, though. It doesn’t do any permanent harm. Just puts people to sleep for a while. You can ask Professor Miller. He’s—”
“Ugh. You banged Miller?” Siobhán asked.
Rachel replied, “Lots of times. He’s good in bed and he’s got a nice cock. You should give him a try.”
“No, thanks. I—”
“Rachel…” Bruce muttered as he found enough energy to speak.
“See? Bruce is fine,” said Rachel.
“He doesn’t sound fine. Okay, we’re letting you up.”
Rachel came into view again, rubbing her wrists as she followed Siobhán to the bed.
Siobhán said, “Don’t do anything stupid, Rachel. Holding you down was easy, and the Dungeon’s got minions standing by.”
Siobhán threw a blanket over Bruce’s naked body.
Such a decent girl. Bruce managed a small smile when Siobhán bent over him to look at his face. Joe’s lucky.
“He’s not dying, Siobhán. Jesus.” Rachel rolled her eyes.
“Bruce, did Rachel tell you what she was going to do?” asked Siobhán.
“N-no.” Bruce managed.
Siobhán sighed. “Strike one, lady. Don’t do that again. What you did is basically a form of rape. You realize that, right? Draining someone’s mana without consent—during sex? That’s fucked up.”
“I…” Rachel trailed off, grimacing.
Siobhán looked at Bruce again and said, “He can hardly focus on anything right now. Bruce is strong, since he got his class yesterday. This has to stop until we find out what it’s done to anyone you’ve slept with since it began.”
Siobhán turned to face Rachel. “I’m sorry, but we need a list.”
“He’s the seventh today,” said Rachel.
Joy turned red.
Siobhán shut her eyes and took a breath.
A few minutes later, they had all the names and locations they needed.
Siobhán nodded. “Good. You didn’t leave anyone out. The Dungeon knows where you’ve been and… who you’ve been doing. She figured you wore all the normal guys out along with that one woman, but since Bruce has a class, she thought he would be okay.”
“Aren’t you gonna go check on the other guys?” asked Rachel.
Siobhán replied, “Nope. ProfCon’s already got others talking with them.”
“Huh. Well, I can also do this.” Rachel pointed to her chest, and Bruce’s eyes widened when her breasts shrank to their original size.
“And this.” She did the same with her clitoris, then made it almost as big as Bruce’s equipment at full-mast.
“How the hell?” asked Joy.
“Heh. You got one hell of a class, woman. Ciara says if we can figure out some kind of proper consent routine, as long as anyone you sleep with isn’t actually harmed and they understand what will happen, then—”
“It’s amazing,” said Bruce.
“What is?” asked Siobhán.
“The… uh… you know. Finishing… in Rachel. Best moment of my life, except for all that weakness after. That sucked. But, you know… If I recover fully, I’m gonna do her again.”
“See?” Rachel beamed. “He’s okay.”
“You’re lucky, Rachel.” Siobhán hugged her, and Rachel’s eyes went wide.
“What are you—” Rachel’s brow scrunched, making her look confused as her hands reached to hug back, then stopped.
“I’m so glad you didn’t actually hurt anyone.” Siobhán’s eyes watered.
“Why would—”
“I just—I’m glad you don’t have to die.” Siobhán sniffled, still hugging Rachel tight.
Rachel’s mouth tightened as her eyes widened and she hugged Siobhán back. Then she sniffled, too.
“You’re… the Professor was that mad?” Rachel asked, starting to tremble.
“Mm.” Siobhán nodded. “We didn’t know if you permanently stole life energy or if these men were gonna die… ProfCon says she’s disappointed that you didn’t get proper consent from any of the people you slept with today—and I agree.”
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“Me too,” Bruce added.
Siobhán pulled back far enough to look Rachel in the eyes. “But you’re still her student and she cares about you.”
“But… you said she might kill me?” Rachel sobbed.
“She’s a Dungeon, Rachel. That’s one of the things Dungeons do. They eat living things—including people.”
“So, this place is actually a death trap?” asked Brad.
“Only if you do something horrible, or if you go deeper in the Dungeon than you can handle. That’s why we’ve been trying to warn people not to make the Dungeon angry. Also, to be careful and get stronger before they go rushing off to chase treasure.”
“I thought… we were in a safe place,” Rachel muttered.
“You are—as long as you don’t follow the kind of attitude we saw when we first got here. You attacked me.”
“I…”
“What?”
“Nothing.”
“I see.” Siobhán released the hug and stepped back, folding her arms.
“I mean…”
Siobhán asked, “Does your ability make you more aggressive, Rachel?”
“I think so. But I already…”
“You already what? You wanted to hurt me?”
Rachel’s face twitched and Siobhán frowned.
“Why? I’ve never done anything to you. We barely know each other.”
“Because… I’m a jealous bitch,” Rachel muttered.
Siobhán scrunched her brow and opened her mouth slightly as she shook her head. Then her eyes met Rachel’s.
“Joe? That’s what that was about? You wanted to hurt me because of my man?” Siobhán cocked her head.
Rachel blinked. “Joe’s actually—you two are—”
“Yes. We’re together,” said Siobhán. She took a deep breath. “But that’s not jealousy, it’s envy. Right. We can figure this out. Where are your clothes?”
Rachel picked up her T-shirt and threw it on like a dress.
“Uh, that’s not gonna do it, woman. Let’s go to your room.” Siobhán laughed.
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“Fine. If it’s important, that’s not a problem. Okay, marines. Exfil—the same way back. When we reach the surface, thirty minutes of R&R in the fruit orchard.”
Joe led them out and headed out beneath the overcast evening sky to meet Siobhán by the castle. He felt her discomfort the whole time since the incident began, even with kilometers of distance between them.
“Hey Joe,” Siobhán smiled.
She still felt uneasy. Beside her was the crazy girl Joe had avoided earlier when she got naked in the fruit orchard.
He could feel that Siobhán wanted to kiss him badly.
“Hey Siobhán, what’s wrong?” He wrapped her in a warm embrace and they kissed.
“Rachel, here…” Siobhán explained everything she knew about what had happened, and Rachel pouted through most of it.
When she finished, Joe pulled Siobhán close to his side. “Ah, I see. Well, there’s an easy fix.”
Joe faced Rachel. “I don’t mind being friends if we can be, Rachel. But, just so we’re clear and there can be no mistake—I’m marrying Siobhán, and there is no woman or Succubus or whatever, on this world or any other, who’s going to change that.”
Rachel’s mouth fell open and her eyes flashed with annoyance when he mentioned marriage.
Why do I have to deal with this shit?
Joe felt Siobhán’s love mixed with indignation as fog started rolling in over the beach.
“If it’s her tits, I can do this.” Rachel pointed at her chest as it swelled to four times its original size.
Siobhán wanted to facepalm just as much as Joe did.
Are you fucking serious? This girl’s a moron.
Joe made a huge show of it when he facepalmed. He felt Siobhán stifling her laughter.
“Hah. Another woman’s looks will never change anything. It’s what’s in Siobhán’s heart that matters to me.”
“But I also…” Rachel started to cry and Joe felt Siobhán growing annoyed.
Right. Crocodile tears. I already knew.
Siobhán’s adoration swelled through their connection as she squeezed Joe’s hand.
Joe shook his head. “Rachel, you’re a driven young woman. You like to lead others and you’ve got real fire in you. There are plenty of men who’ll be attracted to that, but I’m not one of them. Now, I need to get back to my marines.”
Siobhán tugged at Joe’s hand.
Joe pulled Siobhán close for another kiss, then departed, jogging swiftly toward the fog-covered beach.
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Siobhán smiled as she felt the reassuring presence of Joe’s adoration for her.
Rachel snapped, “So, you think declaring war is gonna make me want to be your friend?”
Siobhán raised her eyebrows and met Rachel’s eyes. “There isn’t a war, Rachel. I did this so you could move on. If you choose not to, then you’re the one who’s wasting her time and energy. You’re a pretty girl, and there are plenty of guys who’ll want you.”
Rachel glared at Siobhán in silence.
“Right. I tried. The door to friendship is open if you ever want to walk through. That said, I hope you’ll understand something…”
Rachel backed away in horror, she tripped on her own feet and landed on her backside when Nita and Kiwi came rushing out of the castle.
Siobhán climbed onto Kiwi, and Nita ascended to perch on Siobhán’s shoulder.
Dire Widows and Canopy Crawlers exited the sides of the castle and skittered forward to stand beside the gigantic cat as all of them stared directly at Rachel.
Siobhán stroked Nita’s cephalothorax and Kiwi growled deeply while Rachel cowered in terror.
“Rachel, if you ever try to hurt me or Joe—or anyone in this place, it won’t end well for you. ProfCon asked me to tell you that directly. She wants to give you a chance, but if you piss her off again by causing deliberate harm to anyone, she won’t be lenient.”
Rachel peed her jeans when Kiwi stepped closer.
Siobhán said, “Don’t worry. Kiwi and Nita aren’t gonna hurt you. They listen to me. Just remember, ProfCon’s always watching.”
Rachel picked herself up and ran shrieking toward the beach. She stumbled twice before she found her stride.
Aside from Nita, the spiders returned to their tunnels.
[Thank you, Soybean. I dislike Rachel’s attitude, but as long as she stops being a problem, I think we can let her stay.]
Siobhán sighed. “I didn’t think Rachel would be such a bitch, ProfCon. We should warn everyone about her draining ability—it’s disturbing. If she does that to someone way down in the Dungeon, they could die.”
[That’s already been done, ‘bean. Mike had a little meeting with the Adventurer’s Guild, and word is spreading fast. She’ll also be warned never to use that ability inside my Dungeon again.]
Siobhán replied, “She did already? Ugh. Why am I not surprised? Good to hear that everyone’s being informed.”
[She may be my former student, but if Rachel uses that mana-drain ability against anyone without consent, I’m throwing her out on her ass. If she tries to hurt anyone, I’m sorry, but I will kill her.]
“You know I hate violence, Prof…” Siobhán frowned.
[I know, Soybean. But it doesn’t make sense to expose everyone to unnecessary danger by allowing a threat to remain. Rachel just showed that she’s drunk with her own power and doesn’t mind abusing it where she can.]
“Just, please, no killing?” Siobhán pleaded.
[I’ll try my best to refrain from that, but I won’t make any promises if Rachel does something bad enough. Remember what happened when I let Nicolas go? He came back and tried to kill Joy, while seeking to kill you specifically. Rachel doesn’t seem like she’s killed anyone, but her attitude isn’t much better than his.]
“I know.”
I hope we can find a better way…
[So you know, I am having some of my spiders shadow Rachel wherever she goes. Two of them are already on standby in the air vents of her room. They’ll restrain Rachel with silk if she messes up.]
Siobhán reached forward and scratched the scruff of Kiwi’s neck. “Can you warn people down at the beach that I’d like to bring Kiwi and Nita? It’s not fair if they have to hide all the time.”
[I agree. Joe, please let your marines know that Kiwi’s coming down to the beach with Soybean. I won’t be happy if they shoot at him, and you know what will happen if they harm my ‘bean.]
“Thanks.”
Joe’s mild irritation through their connection was quickly displaced by anticipation and eagerness to see Siobhán.
I have such an incredible man.
Siobhán smiled and nudged Kiwi toward the beach with a thought. The massive, thousand-pound mountain lion purred and sauntered smoothly toward the surf.
[They’re all going to have to get used to seeing Kiwi anyway. Things are changing fast, now that so many people are gaining—]
“Awakening,” said Siobhán.
[What do you mean?]
“That’s the best way I can describe how I felt when I became an Enkelyn Ally, ProfCon. It’s like I awakened to all of this.”
[Hah. Considering my situation, I’d say that word is perfect.]
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