I have already reached Cerolus’ house by the afternoon, and there is not a single sign of him anywhere. And I already got worked up for telling him what happened to me.

I guess I can look around the house, what’s the worst that can happen?

I go around the almost empty halls of the house, the barrenness disrupted by the occasional ashen segment of the wall, or the charred remains of a picture. Did he seriously live here before? I mean, it’s not that bad, but why are there so many burns?

I walk around the main hall, reaching what seems to be the only preserved piece of art on the wall.

I can discern Cerolus in the group of the four people presented on it, his red skin, a bright smile, abysmally black eyes with a red glint, and the black shiny horns making him even more attractive than in person. He seems a bit younger on the picture, the horns without any cracks and chips on it, his face a bit more… tighter, I guess.

He seems to be hugging the Demon woman next to him, his arm stretched around his waist. A sudden urge to feel his touch against me overtakes me, as I attempt to glare at a picture that seems older than I am.

The two other people on the picture are two male Demons, one on each side of the center pair. They look similar in a way, but the differences in their skin colour make them easily distinguishable. While the one has the same bright red tone as Cerolus, the other has an ashen grey skin more similar to the woman’s paler complexion.

I notice Kozzok is now around. It’s a bit unusual to find him near me and not Cerolus. He is also in full view, the shadows no longer overlapping him.

To be completely honest, his horns remind me of a ram’s somewhat, they have the same curve around his head and are positioned a bit more towards the side of his face compared to Cerolus’ jutting ones.

“Kozzok, who are these people on the picture?”

His brooding over answering me takes a better part of a minute. Is it that sensitive of a subject?

“If you don’t want to answer, I guess that is fine, I guess I’ll ask Cerolus later.”

“It’s his family from what I’ve heard him talk. I never met them before, he told me it was long ago. He talked sometimes about his sons, but it never turned out that well, it always managed to make him melancholic when the issue was pressed. We eventually learned to not ask or talk about it.”

His sons? He was married before me? How long ago was that if Kozzok, who seems really old, doesn’t know them?

He and I have so much to talk about when he gets back.

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“To perform a Reversal Ritual, it is best to first shower the child in the blood of Hellboar or another mana rich beast, overloading its magical channels. The Ritualist then uses some of his, or her, magical power to strip all power from the child…”

How did we even come up with this thing in the first place? We shower everyone in Hellboar blood for anything these days. Although I must say the feeling of Hellboar blood on my skin is exhilarating, it’s such a rush of power and warmth. I can remember the last time I showered in the blood of Hellboar, it was the best sex I’ve had that decade. And the excitement of his tail entering…

“Ahem, back to the task at hand Cerolus.”

How long since I’ve talked to myself like that? Surely it can’t be that long? I can’t even remember so much of what has transpired in the recent years. So many memories I lost, so many I discarded, so many I tried but failed to lock up somewhere deep inside me.

The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

I take some more scrolls from the library, some of which I even remember writing. I’ve performed the Ritual already, with varying success, but it has been so long since I’ve had one of my own appear, and it’s in the family no less. And he seriously commands me to Revert him, ridiculous.

Do I call the Lilin Council on this matter? Do I let someone else do this after all? How can I just stand and do this without any guilt and without any remorse?

I peruse through the material I gathered, fully realizing what must be done.

I peer at the depictive imagery of a Hellboar bloodshower, and I have to resist the urge to temper with the throbbing in my groins.

I seriously need to sleep with someone.

My mind already starting to hover somewhere between vivid dreams and reality, I look around for any sense of true privacy in case someone decides to disturb the cobwebs of this ancient building.

Unable to deflect the thoughts and desires of my mind, I enter a small reading room and quickly undress my attire, the blood rush making me sweat from the thoughts alone.

My mind wanders through sweet memories as I recollect the experiences I have had, while my hand clutches my groins vigorously yet tenderly, every touch more alluring than the last.

My thought suddenly wanders to the graze of Sophia’s soft skin against mine, the paleness of her body so mystically alluring, her small lean figure providing me with a deep sense of pride, joy and an unmistakable sense of longing for her smile, touch and breath, as the swelling in my hand continues to throb while I furiously tug away.

Maintaining my unruly thoughts while I whimper and groan, my groins shiver as I take a large breath and my gut drops, with one last jerk letting loose all of my suppressed emotions.

I open my eyes after what seemed like an eternity spent in pure bliss, the throbbing in my hand pushing the last drops of liquid out.

I have to clean all of this mess up now. Why do I sometimes think with the wrong head?

“You know, if you needed a release, you could’ve always called.”

I jump at hearing anyone in this abandoned place. Was I that loud, or did I just completely abandon any semblance of attention of my surroundings?

The noticeably female voice is coming from the now open doors of the room, the shadows covering my conversation partner. But it seems eerily familiar, I know I’ve heard that melodic note before. I can’t put my finger on it though, my mind still mostly blank from what happened.

“I appreciate the view, I haven’t actually been privy to it thus far.” I look down only to realise my equipment is in full display, something which would in other situation be quite welcome. I hurriedly put my pants on, haphazardly tucking my shirt in.

“Very funny, now who the hell are you and why are you here?” I almost shout at her, trying to ascertain at the consequences of this untimely meeting.

Wait, why am I even bothered that much?

“It’s shocking to think you’ve forgotten the voice of your own daughter… daddy.” The noticeable attempt of a seductive voice behind that last word almost chills me, removing any semblance of the relief I felt mere moments before all of this went wrong.

There’s only one person that has ever called me that.

Fucking great.