Chapter 307
One would have thought that Fay overpowering other level 200’s while simultaneously not killing them outright was a hard task without Athela’s help. Fay’s core skillset was based in illusion and trickery, centered around her curse traps and dreamwalker zone. However, she was also adept in many utility based skills, two of which were Silvertongue - and Charm. They only worked on far weaker enemies than herself with poor Willpower, but these idiots fit that bill to the T.
“It would mean so much to me if you dropped your weapons, darling…” The succubus said with a wide smile and glowing pink eyes as she infused the charm into her selected target - while keeping their area invisible to the rest of the battlefield. Soothing words dripped off her tongue, infusing the command into her target’s soul to add onto the prior effect and compound it. “And put these on… before taking this potion.”
[Charm (Depravity) – Infatuate any enemies within range of sight that look upon you when activating this ability, causing them to lose focus. The farther away they are from you, the less effect this ability will have. The more willpower the enemy has, the less effect this ability will have. Channeling ability that costs increasing amounts of mana over time.]
[Silvertongue (Unholy Succubus Trait): Soak your words with unholy mana to briefly capture the minds of lesser beings, allowing only those with a less Willpower than you to be affected and enabling you to persuade them more easily. This spell scales with both Willpower and Negative Charisma, as well as the amount of mana you put into it. As a Greater Succubus, this is an inherent trait that works even better on those attracted to females. Moderately high mana cost, low cooldown.]
“Y-Yes mistress!” The entranced, white-scaled draconic man replied as he took the energy suppression manacles and helped shackle himself. “Perhaps we will have time alone after this, to speak and-”
“Yes, of course darling. We’ll have all the time in the world!” Fay said sweetly, patting his cheek and leading his hands to the uncapped potion that sparkled with an eerie gray light. “Now drink, and go lie down with the others there. We can talk later.”
The draconic man she’d seduced relaxed the spines across his scaled neck, sighed while staring puppy dog eyes at her, and drank the potion she’d given him before lumbering over to the two other passed-out bodies on the floor.
Taking care to expand her dreamwalker zone further on as Athela and Azmoth continued to slaughter these unusually weak descenders up the stairwell. There was something odd about the entire situation, but at the same time - it also meant that she had a far easier experience charming and controlling them. Given that she now had three quite rare variants captured, with the last of them drifting off into a dreamless sleep via the potion she’d just given the man, she wasn’t going to complain. She’d immediately gone for the species that were far rarer on Panu, ones that they’d not have the opportunity to find and capture there, given that Riven would need a wide spread of blood types for his furthered bloodline expansions. They also needed to be mortal. This excluded demons, angels, and undead - but left most of the other races open for grabs.
The draconian warrior with white scales was the last of what she’d take. Sleeping next to him was a witch of a rare mer-human variant Fay hadn’t ever seen before, having a deep yellow shade of skin, purple eyes, purple hair, webs between her fingers and gills along her neck. The witch had been the easiest and second of all to subdue. The first target she’d acquired was a half-ogre barbarian of some kind, though he was so mutilated that Fay wouldn’t be surprised if he died before Riven got a chance to taste his blood at the farm.
Despite this she opened the portal after making sure all of their shackles were fastened, and shoved them inside with her hands tail; closing the prison realm of ‘Fay’s Dreamscape Dungeon’ with a pop.
“All in a day’s work!” She said while slapping her hands together to brush off the muck from strenuously pushing the half-ogre inside. “Now where did that smexy Riven get off to!?”
***
He was still in the backline, and hadn’t used any of his own spells or aura control at all yet. He still wanted to see what his Shadow-Blood storm aura’s empowering effects had on his minions, but that could wait for a fight that didn’t make him want to yawn.
Riven was both thoroughly impressed with his own team while thoroughly disgusted with the lack of fighting prowess this other side had. Were they intentionally throwing bodies at him to wear his mana down? Did they even know it was him? Because he had an unlimited amount of ambient Blood mana at his disposal on this floor. How was a team like this supposed to surpass this or any of the lower descent floors?
Watching his two demons Athela and Azmoth slaughter everything in their path with Fay and Genua supporting them was like watching kids ruthlessly stomp through an ant pile. The two large rampaging archdemons were even making it a contest, seeing who could kill in the most extreme displays of gore and violence. Their enemies fought back furiously, but did little to no damage - often missing thanks to Fay’s illusions, and what damage did manage to hit them was quickly healed by woven threads of blood mists that circled their side of the battlefield given Genua’s new passive aura. Riven literally didn’t need to do a damn thing, and it was also good practice for Kara. Because despite these opponents not being on par with him or his archdemons, or even his thrall, they were on par with the drow archer.
He leaned on his staff and glanced over at the still shaky dark elf, who’d grown slightly more confident while firing arrows now that she realized she probably wasn’t in any danger. She was still traumatized from the time she’d nearly been eaten by that monster two floors ago right before Riven had saved her, and it showed. Perhaps she’d be better working at the guild as a bartender or maid, rather than a warrior. She didn’t have the heart for it in his opinion, unless things changed. That, or maybe she’d just need babysitting for a while and would be put in Hakim’s team for lower-level and less dangerous missions should the guild take any on in the future. He certainly didn’t see himself remaining as ‘king’ of the necropolis long term, or perhaps he did - but only in name. Allie would be the one running it. The more he thought about the potentials of guild life, with adventuring and small jobs and perhaps some off world excursions together like this, the more he liked it.
Jackal’s flaming eye sockets in its horned skull suddenly flared with intense brightness for no apparent reason, getting Riven’s attention with a surprised raise of the eyebrows. “Everything ok, buddy?”
The staff quivered in his hands again, and then remained still once more.
“Well that’s odd.” Riven scratched his head. That certainly wasn’t normal for Jackal to do, but not being able to talk to the staff was something of a hassle. Even in its demonic canine form, the winged beast couldn’t really read or write. It had a baseline consciousness and intelligence, but smarts weren’t really in its repertoire. Even messenger, the armor covering Riven from the bridge of his nose down to his toes was more responsive when it came to questions - where the gluttonous maw across his chest would open up and occasionally point to things with its tendrils. Basic things, like bodies or cheese or pie that it wanted to eat.
Usually it was bodies that were too far off for it to grab without Riven flying over.
“Doing a great job guys!” Riven called over the screams, explosions, and clashing of metal as he pulled out a pipe and casually watched the slaughterfest on the enormous spiral staircase. “Lookin’ good!”
“You lazy asshole!” Genua laughed with a side-eye underneath the blood priestess hood and head ornament. She was becoming obviously more and more pregnant as the days went on, and kept her hands underneath her belly while cycling divinity into her aura that leaked into the clouds above. Those same aura clouds powered by her Faith stat both healed his tanks and peeled the skin off her enemies.
Riven smirked underneath Messenger’s facemask, picked up Jackal and twirled it about in one hand while checking the rear for any potential interlopers coming up behind them. “This is a good experience for you Genua! I don’t know what you mean by saying I’m a lazy asshole, and it’s considered rather rude for a vampire’s thralls to call them out like that!”
He pointed Jackal’s skull top in the direction of her aura’s clouds. “By the way, those are pretty damn potent! I’m impressed!”
“It is all thanks to you, master. And the Blood God of course.” Genua bowed her head in respect. “I am glad that our children have such a good father figure!”
Our children?
Was she talking about Len alongside the unborn child?
Riven immediately felt a bit queasy, and slightly uncomfortable. He knew that Genua had been wanting him to adopt Len, and he certainly would if that’s what she wanted. He owed it to them, especially to Len, for having killed her real father and her big sister. But that was only if Len would accept him in that role, a role that Genua apparently already mentally placed him in despite the few talks they’d had about needing to sit down with Len about it first.
It’d been hard enough having that initial talk back in the woods near Hakim’s cabin, when Riven had first admitted to Len that he’d been the one to kill them. It didn’t help his case very much that it’d been somewhat in self defense, Len had thought him to be strong enough to choose between different options of what he could have done instead. She was also right. If Riven had wanted to, he probably could have done it a different way and let Ethel live despite Ethel’s attempt to kill him. Maybe. Probably. He didn’t know for sure, but it was definitely a possibility he’d ruled out at the time in favor of Azmoth’s suicide bomb in order to make sure that bastard prophet had died.
The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.
“Genua…” Riven said, coming to stand next to her as he lowered his voice for a more private conversation, given the line of vampires and the drow archer still next to them. “I’m still not sure Len is going to accept me as her dad. We should probably hold off on assuming that she will until we have that talk with her.”
Genua for her part looked very confused, and turned 90 degrees to look at him with rapidly blinking red eyes. “Hmm? I don’t understand what you mean by that. You’re her father!”
Riven’s polite smile dropped into a more stoic frown. “Genua, seriously. I told you that I’d adopt her, but-”
“Adopt her?” Genua asked again, even more confused as she furrowed her brows - and then began to laugh with a sing-song chime to her voice. She lifted one of her hands off her belly and tugged at his left cheek lovingly - which was very strange behavior coming from the high elf thrall. “Riven! Stop joking around! You’re her biological father, just like the child I carry now. Stop being so silly!”
“Eh… What?” Messenger’s facemask withdrew to reveal his entire face, and he aggressively scratched his chin with narrowed eyes. “Genua, is this some kind of prank?”
“What do you mean, dear?” She said, completely straight faced with a flush to her cheeks. “You’re asking really weird questions. I should be asking the same of you! What are you going on about, with adopting Len? Oh those memories of the day I gave birth still ring clear to me. Don’t you remember it too!? Can you believe it’s been so long and how much she’s grown up since then!? I vividly remember the day that Len was born - how could I forget! You were with me in Greenstalk Village nearly seven years ago now, before our planet merged into Panu. You held my hand and told me that the birthing women would be late to help as they were at another pregnancy, and so you had to talk me through it for half the time I was in labor!”
Riven’s eyes went from narrowed to wide with shock, and he felt a lump starting to form in his throat. “Oh… Eh, er, hmm. Genua? Are you sure that memory was with me?”
Genua frowned, and then shoved one of his shoulders a bit irritatedly after realizing he was serious. “Riven, it actually kind of makes me angry that you don’t remember that day. That’s a core memory for me, for us. Do you seriously not remember Len’s birth? I hope for your sake that you don’t ever tell her that. It’d break her heart.”
His skin began to feel clammy, and cold, and he began to try formulating what the next question would be. The question that he dreaded to ask, but he had to do it. “Genua… that memory was probably with the man named Farrod. Your ex husband, the man that I-”
“I was NEVER married to anyone else!” Genua violently hissed, eyes widening in a menacing fashion as divinity sputtered along her body. It was a reaction so fierce and so abrupt that she almost reached out to strike him, but she regained her composure less than two seconds later - returning to the free-spirited version of herself that she’d presented over the last couple of days. “Don’t be silly! You’ve always been my husband!”
The battle continued to rage around them, and she returned to looking ahead - concentrating on healing after Riven remained speechless for the next ten seconds.
His voice came out as a whisper when he did decide to speak, and his hand gripped Jackal’s shaft to the point that his knuckles were turning white underneath the ivory plating and bloodsilk threads of the armor he wore. “Do you remember Ethel? Do you remember your other daughter, Ethel?”
Genua once again furrowed her brows in confusion, then stared at him long and hard. “I’ve never had another daughter. WE have never had another daughter, Riven. It’s only been Len, and the child I’m now pregnant with. I’m beginning to tire of these asinine questions, Riven. Please, don’t make jokes like this again. It’s beginning to bother me.”
Riven was shocked. Dumbfounded. A mixture of emotions swirled up inside him and he couldn’t put into words just what that mixture all meant to him. He wanted to cry, to sink down into a hole and never come out again. All the talks he’d ever had about thralls and how they were mind slaves were one thing on paper, and he’d even seen the results firsthand as Genua had gone from hate, to acceptance, to liking him, and eventually - to lusting after him or even seeing him as her husband now.
It was not only fucking weird, but it was fucking sad. And he was to blame, even if she had been the one to ask for this. Perhaps this was what she had wanted, to forget the family members of hers that he’d murdered. But to him, it was a new weight put on his shoulders - knowledge that Ethel in particular would be forever forgotten by the mother that’d once loved her, due to a vampiric virus that raged in Genua’s body and through her mind.
Worse yet was that Len was not a thrall and would forever remember her big sister and father. What would Len have to say when she realized that her mom didn’t recognize the names of Ethel and Farrod anymore?
What the fuck?
What the actual fuck?
Just what the fuck had he done? When had the transition gone from persuasive to an absolute override of memories? When had that happened? He hadn’t even known that it WOULD happen!
Stoically nodding, he turned to leave - but was stopped when Genua reached out to grab his wrist.
“Dearest, don’t look so sad! We’re doing so well!” She said happily drawing him in and giving him a peck on the cheek. “We’ll get Lillith back in no time, and then we’ll be able to go home and see Len again as a family! I’m sure she misses you! Maybe we can have a family baking night like we used to do back in the village, or we can all go fishing together! Don’t you think?”
“Uh-Uhm, yeah. That’d be… That’d be great.” He tried to give an affectionate peck back, but needed to pull away quickly after while wiping at his eyes. “I’m not sad, I just - I just have something in my eyes. Sorry.”
Genua didn’t look convinced, but let go of his wrist with another knowing side eye. “Fine. Let me know if you wish to talk about it. I’m here for you, master!”
Master?
Hadn’t she just called him her husband? Hadn’t she called him ‘Dearest’ just now?
Did she even know what she was saying anymore? Or did she think that he was both husband and master now?
Jesus Christ.
“Absolutely, Genua. Keep up the good work. You’re doing great, and know that I appreciate the effort.”
***
Five minutes later, Fay returned. They’d gained ground, but these enemies hadn’t given up yet despite massive losses numbering over a thousand now. Riven was convinced that there was some kind of portal up above producing them given the constant stream of opponents, and he was even more convinced that these were not normal descent contendants given their lacking power - which bade the question of where they were coming from and who they were.
More than that though, was the knowledge that he’d been very thoroughly mistaken about what thralls actually were and what vampiric venom containing his mind-altering virus could do. He had underestimated just how vampirism affected a thrall’s mind, and what it meant to truly be a ‘mind slave.’
“Genua’s really performing out there! Just look at how fast Azmoth’s gash healed a moment ago!” Fay exclaimed, whooping and cheering on her comrades in the front lines. “GET THEM GUYS! YES, TEAR OFF THEIR LIMBS JUST LIKE THAT! MAKE THEM SQUEAL! STOMP THEM INTO THE GROUND AND TURN THEM INTO PASTE!”
The succubus nudged Riven eagerly. “Damn, Azmoth is really having fun with this! But back to Genua. Do you think that perhaps we could get you to make an entire squad of thralls? She’s far superior than most thralls I’ve ever seen, and I’m pretty sure it’s because you’re a pureblood. That, or Gluttony has something to do with it. My Lord Gluttony? Would you happen to know?”
Gluttony’s maw erupted in space next to them. “No, my child. This is my first ever reincarnation, and though vampires do contain many of the traits I desire - such as the need to feed and a high affinity for Blood, I am afraid I don’t know much about this particular subject.”
“Hmmm…” Fay said, tapping her blue lips as Gluttony disappeared again and bobbing her horned head side to side. “Well either way, the quality of your thralls is on another level. You should seriously invest in getting an elite squad put together for your own personal guard! I know you have the Willpower to do it.”
Riven halfheartedly smiled back at her, still leaning hard on Jackal’s shafter while his mind went into overdrive at the implications of what Genua’s conversation now meant to him; and what it meant should he ever decide to acquire more thralls in the future. He let out a shallow breath. “Yeah. They’d be pretty powerful.”
“Right!?” Fay exclaimed happily while bobbing up and down on her toes - tail slapping against the floor. “OOOOooooh, it’d be so cool! Just imaging going back to Panu with an entire set of ten or however many thralls you can get before leaving here - all of them at level 200 or above; all of them with a taste of your own powerful bloodline and just absolutely CRUSHING the other top ten rankers on the power board! You’d be unstoppable. That’s it! That’s the answer.”
She harumphed, making her large breasts protrude and arching her back with a sagely nod. “It’ll be a plan for the ages! What do you think about starting now? …Riven? Riven? Hello?”
Fay waved her grimoire in front of his face a few times to get his attention? “Planet Fay to Riven?! Are you there!?”
“Yeah. I’m here. I’m just deep in thought, sorry babe. I apologize.” He pulled her into a firm side hug, beginning to scratch the back of her head and around her horns just like she liked.
She shuddered in ecstasy and melted into his embrace with a drawn out happy sigh. “Yes, this is the stuff. You need to do this more often.”
“Anything you want, Fay. I’d be more than happy to give you some of those full body massages again.”
“Those full body massages always turn into-”
“Yeah and you like it when it does!”
“Fair point.” She elbowed him in the side as the two of them started to laugh. “There we go! There’s my happy Riven again! So what do you think about the thrall squad idea!?”
Riven considered it for a while, and clicked his tongue. “I’ve very recently had some unexpected insights concerning thralls. Yes, Genua is a great asset to the team now… but I would never want to turn people who didn’t deserve it. Not after what… Eh, for another time maybe. But yes, I’m fine with the idea as long as they’re terrible people.”
“Terrible people?” Fay repeated, hands on her protruding hips with squinty eyes. “What does that mean? By what definition is someone terrible?”
“People that have done horrible and cruel things needlessly. Use your imagination.” He held up a finger. “Or people that have outright attacked us that we’d kill anyways. Such as these guys.”
He gestured to the crowd of oncoming enemies that continued to die like flies.
She clapped her hands excitedly in front of her and began to hop up and down again. “Great! Great, that’s awesome to hear! Did you want me to capture one now for you?”
Riven shook his head and dismissed the notion with only a single glance upwards, stepping over some mangled bodies on the way and picking up one of the spatial sacks the vampires and Kara had missed while looting. “Nah. We have no way to take them with us to the next floor, do we? Unless we drag them along as captives and use them to fill our own party, but then we’d have to look after them on the descent down and that’d be tiring.”
Fay gave him a sheepish grin. “Right! Of course, of course… If only we had some way of transporting 50 or so prisoners in an alternate dimension or something. Wouldn’t that be nice?!”
Riven chuckled and smacked her hand away as she tried to grope his ass. “It’d be great. Maybe one day we can find an item like that. It’d be nice to hold prisoners there for me to eat and feed on, or for changing them into thralls over the long term. I wonder if something like that is on the Elysium Markets? If so it’s gotta be expensive, but I haven’t even heard of anything like that around.”
Fay became pink in the cheeks again and let out a long whistle. “Yeah… it’d certainly be nice. Oh look! There’s the top of the stairway! Maybe we can finally get out of this damnable floor and get onto the next one soon. I’m a little bit interested to see just how many people are still up there after having killed so many on the way up the stairs!”