Take Up the Cross – Chapter 68: Pure, Ecstatic Madness! ☆

“Expensive and difficult! Do you think trade apprentices and spoiled noble scions grow on trees!? A young intermediary of a mercantile association is possible, but…”

When the topic had come to the identities Adris wanted, a quick explanation of the problems with mimicking their “noble” caste had almost dissuaded him.

(So different. If you wish to be the aristocracy on Xin, you merely need to usurp a province and assert your claim before the docile remnants of the Imperial Court.)

“How much for a variety!? If you want to reach the heavens, then find me a reliable source of Succor to deliver you to them!”

{What a haul~! I even got to mince that feckless plague carrier~. Do you think they love us, Adris?}

“Anaxis and Cherie are quite cross with us, but hatred dies when wealth accumulates…”

{Money cures all wounds~!}

Though pleased with the outcome, their strong-arm tactics resulted also in simmering anger. Not even Neesiette escaped being stained by their hidden consternation.

(Still stabbed Cherie a lot and I caused the old man to tumble. They’re pissed, but it’ll fade. Injuries don’t mean the same thing on Zennia, as I’ve noticed…)

Many emotional damages seem lessened here, with mortality and general safety more secured for everyone.

“By a keen eyed gaze’s discernment do future needs for enhanced and augmented objects of sufficient value find themselves answered, regardless of dubious provenance and hazard inherent with them. Congratulations be in order for efficient dispensation of obligations.”

“I admit to missing your normal way of speaking, Neesiette.”

With the negotiations involving Bayonne, the lengthy wordsmith had mostly held in her impulses to launch into great explanations and flowery grammar. Even the owners of Welcome Web receive little of her excessive charm.

The longing Adris speaks of brings her pause as they walk, before she eyes him curiously.

“Only current company suffices for enabling full conveyance of this lady’s intentions and thoughts. Lacking the enlightened sophistication demonstrated by such company promotes disappointment elsewhere, for reactions of exasperated incredulity prove predictable from lesser intellects.”

(Oh, I’m sophisticated, am I~?)

“As this lady must admit incapability to follow mere signs alone to true clarity where another displays ease, immediate understanding of Still, Kol, and the other beside a boy proves capacity for language unthinkable otherwise.”

“It’s a gift.”

{… That might be true. Whole lot we don’t know about those…~}

Easy sarcasm turns into knowing thoughts from Still.

Just as easy is a hand hanging to her side, for the eyeless stalker seems totally preoccupied.

While pretending to be cheery, the truth of that vault has become an unseen cancer within her.

(I don’t want it to gnaw too deeply.)

“Because… Kol, right hand, can’t let Boss beat Kol!”

The hand offered by a kobold had been eager and possessive, while the other…

(Does your left hand call for me, too?)

Quick emotions flare with the squeezing given to her; but, before she can pull away, Adris concentrates on that same feeling that bridged him and Kol.

As he lifts her left hand, transparent lines of energy form on her naked mesh as his own begins to ache.

The Alchemaster’s blue seal of water swirls brightly before the girl slips away like the tide.

Lifting his left hand, the glyphs inscribed on one of his fingers forms.

WATER BIRTHS THE WIND, AND FLOWS ONLY TOWARD VENGEANCE.

{Can’t fuckin’ help yourself, can ya!?}

Skittish, angry gestures come from a single hand two meters away, for that’s how far Still jumps to freedom. The glowing one is hidden behind her back as she shifts uncomfortably before bucking up to him.

(No, I’m just trying to make the right impression…!)

“What you hunt doesn’t only have one enemy.”

Saying it coolly, he opens his arms slightly to invite her.

Holding up his finger before the glowing glyphs fade, she trails its path as he wags it.

“Same target; many knives. This is proof—”

{… That prey isn’t just a prize for some, though, boy!}

Still’s mannerisms shift with her thoughts, her mercurial moods manifesting again. No longer flustered, every foot menacingly creeping toward him further chills their conversation. The sure aura of a killer clings to her suddenly cold figure, with a grim smile capping it off.

(That’s the same feeling you had when you stabbed Gallus! You can’t scare me with posturing…!)

Clinging to that thought, he stands up to her, until she closes to within reach of him as she suddenly releases her pressure.

With Neesiette attentively chaperoning them, Still is forced to come close to “speak” her last thoughts freely. One hand is deceptively placed over his heart, sharing the tremors of emotions flowing through both.

{Sharpen that knife for her heart before aiming at another’s! … Until I feel the same anger from you, partner, you’re sadly just an appealing assistant.}

(Only you can seduce while intimidating and insulting!)

“I’m more than—!”

Dodging his hand when it tries to touch her, she quickly flees. He follows only a few steps before she runs straight into a wall where a deep shadow paints it.

And vanishes when her colors merge with its own, like diving into a pool of rippling water.

(So that’s how you fucking do it!? You can jump shadows!)

Like with Gallus’s death battle and Anaxis’ description of his being ambushed, she proves that nowhere is safe from her reach so long as darkness is there.

The embarrassing silence after leaves him standing awkwardly, a silent witness even now watching him.

“… Well… it seems I’ve made an error.”

An almost perfect night of teamwork ends terribly due to a miscalculation of her emotions.

(I pushed way too hard? She’s a lot more viciously independent than I thought. How am I going to rope her into—?)

“If it aids in her understanding of the effects of such anti-social behaviors, ignoring the outbursts of a capricious interventionist who constantly and gleefully flits along the emotional insecurities of others be encouraged.”

Wide-eyed and speechless, Adris stares down at an emissary of the moon above who casually brushes her hair back with a hand while looking unperturbed.

“Wasting the beauty of Luna’s radiance gifted by Traveler be considerably uncouth, for a mercurial girl’s constant belligerence toward this lady for allowing situations nearly identical to this one’s to ‘apparently’ pass without fulfillment adequately frames her own failures.

An attempted connection, proffered with masculine sincerity and undertones of longing, in order to engender companionship and, perhaps, birth burgeoning roman—”

The two blink at each other when she becomes aware of his intense interest…

“… ah.”

… before Neesiette closes her mouth stiffly and begins to walk off.

Hurrying after her, Adris almost forgets his next goal for the night.

Amber hair and a slight figure under the light of the same object she waxed on about become his next obsessions.

(I never thought I’d hear Neesiette talk bad about Still! This is delicious…!)

“… Manifestations of unchangeable bonds be a troubling topic for some. Emotional turbulence still unresolved witnessed its birth during inescapable changes occurring during an unknownable investiture.”

“If Kol and Still both share that seal, then that would mean…?”

An aggressive posture corners Adris as he leers at her.

While still taller than her, to him this girl’s figure suddenly grows daunting, as if her fragility becomes a strength manifesting to break him.

“So that understanding may be explicit, repeat exactly these words:

‘An effect which be overlayed onto the form of another changes not that other’s form, but merely constitutes a visible manifestation of a spell or Art afflicting them.’”

No emotion comes with these perfectly enunciated words, yet her glowing eyes prove that any refusal will be brutally punished.

A moon fairy has suddenly become an unrelenting object without compassion.

(… This is your trauma!?)

“‘An… effect which be…’”

Finishing with his recitation, she nods once before continuing.

“‘A form unchanged by such an investiture be… identical to its state before it occurred’.”

“… Isn’t that a given?”

“Dither not with such specifics.”

“… Hah, ‘A form unchanged…’”

Though frightening in effect, the pettiness she concentrates on while displaying this conviction leaves Adris only tired as he finishes.

“… Sufficient. Recall forever this truth spoken by one’s own lips should thoughts otherwise ever manifest.”

“You place too much effort in worrying about an entity who backs you without question, Neesiette.”

“Potentially, that be so.”

That magical tension surrounding her winks out of existence as she smiles briefly, before turning and waiting for him to continue walking with her.

(If Still is skittish, you’re livid! … You plan to deal with it by ignoring it.)

Somewhere on Neesiette, a seal will manifest if he causes it to. A girl “made perfectly” deals with her mental disconnect by defining that change as “only an appearance”.

(… Anyway, even if you say that, you were pretty interested in our conversation…)

“About Still’s actions, your words could almost be construed as a compliment for another, couldn’t they?”

His self-assured tone brings a flinch to the mirror she holds.

“Actions undertaken by another which lack suitable tact, and therefore be in need of appropriate correction, do not necessarily reflect on the suitability of one’s own actions!”

“But you found it romantic?”

Faltering in her next step, Neesiette stops without turning.

“… One misunderstands the nature of an explanation to one’s own detriment!”

“Ah, too bad. The night has made me a bit poetic, and my mind finds itself adrift with words of praise for another…”

“…”

Striding forward again, they make their turn at an intersection while walking in the quiet night.

That distance grows as Adris waits for the temptation to become too much.

“… Indeed?”

Though she spares breath for only one word, it holds the slightest anticipation.

At least until a minute passes as she stares at his silent smile.

Briefly furrowing her brows in frustration, she returns to placidity after refusing to ask further.

(Are you a romantic? … Even better: are you… jealous!? Keeping Ave and Kol wrapped up is easy. Still is impossible, but is somehow still working.

I’ve been wondering about how to approach you, though, but just like in the Chapel…)

Perhaps a doll yearns to be treated as more.

[Whatcha mean?]

“Why do I have these sudden sexual urges outside of the Castillo? I’m no longer in its presence, so they should stop, right?”

[Hum, hum, you’re kinda missing the target, right~?

… Kukuku, if a Crossbearer fails to recall, he suffers the effects of more than just the Castillo!]

The cheeky book brings him back to the past again as he reclines into the chair in the room they all rent. With the rest still stuck with dinner and Neesiette drifting off, only this time is free for Adris.

“The Emperor’s curse? Wait, nothing that was written on the golden tablet covers this!”

[Why only there, Adris? Dwell upon the memories one buries. What last thing was spoken before that form was changed?]

(Easier said than done…!)

Even now, things remain hidden, lest pain stab into his brain by picking at it.

(If I think… he was… saying something about women?

That I should have… as many as I…

… can?)

The thought of any of his teammates prompts him to grin lewdly; yet, the memory he unearths brings him to tremble.

Those last thoughts the Emperor spoke about women before sneering…

“[HAVE ALL THAT YOU CAN! In fact, live not if you cannot. All that you shall mark this world with is your conquests, that and nothing more. But ever shall conquests throw themselves before you for tempting… kukuku.]”

(That never-dying monstrosity! You slipped something by!)

[… You got punked, Adris! Unfortunately, that was something “secret”; but, you got enough clues to see through it, so Rantil can confirm it now~.]

“I’m cursed with the same effect as the Castillo!?”

[Same?

… Ho, does one think that would-be-king would only imitate? To merely go crazed with lust would be a blessing, when truth speaks that one will go dead by it if untreated.]

The desk creaks as Adris grips it. Finally understanding what this lingering feeling of dread is when thinking of female bodies and his separation from them, he also knows the repercussions of “fixing” it.

“… I’ll die if I don’t fuck?”

[Stone cold~!]

It takes time for him to recover, even with Rantil’s [Oy, come on, I’m here! Talk to meeeeeee!] constantly recurring.

“I ejected him from the cross and made it mine, and he left this squatting plague behind!”

[It’s not really dangerous? The more dangerous part is the increased likelihood of running into females, Rantil would think…

A

N

Y

W

A

Y~!

Rantil has the obvious solution!]

“If you say ‘just have sex’ I will…”

Quick words fill the page as Adris’ veins throb, promising only relief.

[Ho, rather than ‘just sex’, why not let Rantil make it all better!?

… One’s gains, share them with her! Unseal the next benefit of a Codex!]

“Ah, my accomplishments. They can grant you growth? … Show them to me.”

Turning back to the front of the book with a rush, the black-rimmed pages then flip back to a section that falls open.

[Allowed the Alchemaster’s ire to traverse from a place which is inescapable, forever changing the one who bears it.] (DARKNESS, LUSTER, CASTILLO, DIFFICULTY)

(Pass. This one still seems a hidden danger.)

[Claimed the maidenhood of the one called ‘Kol’, forever denying another and claiming the first intimacy that shapes her soul.] (PASSION) [USED TO CLAIM A CONTRACT WITH CHILL AND KINDLE.]

(I don’t even get to use it intentionally!? How does claiming a virgin stand as an accomplishment!?)

[Permanently defeated the chosen interlopers of Dining Hell and freed its true owner, inviting a living calamity upon the Castillo.] (DOMINATION), (DESIRE)

(That dragon is in charge now…)

The “head chef” that tried to press gang them is now a revived threat for Castile.

[Forever defeated Gallus, the fifth Grand Distortion of the Third Age and not-near kin of the Alchemaster.] (FIRST AGE), (LUSTER), (CASTILLO), (TIBERIAN EMPIRE)

(I don’t feel bad about that!)

[Obtained the first Minions of the Black Cross bound to the Tyrant Knight of Fire, thereby entering the Grand Game.] (BLACK CROSS), (DOMINATION), (RUIN) [USED TO SELF-REVIVE UPON TOTAL EXPENDITURE OF THE BLACK CROSS’ RESERVOIRS.]

(“Self-revive?” What the—!? And I entered into something…?)

[Freed the Tyrant Knight of Fire from lingering doubts, allowing her true power to manifest at the expense of the rest of creation.] (DARKNESS), (APOTHEOSIS), (STRENGTH)

(That was powerful enough to give me a boon!?)

[Obtained the first glimpse into the true nature and plan of the Alchemaster by peering through the Grand Game…]

Watching the words form, Adris’ thoughts wander with the second mention of this topic.

(Why does that sound familiar? When I was unconscious and saw the Alchemaster’s inner realm, it almost seemed like being thrown on a board as a tile. If you consider the Alchemaster a player of the game, then…

Who is the overseer of this “game”? Is that person the one creating these seemingly arbitrary—?)

With that thought, Adris’ vision slips slightly with vertigo.

[… into the—

WHO?

WHERE?

STRANGE INQUIRY, PLEASE WAIT.

CENTRAL TOWER RESPONDS, “HELLO”!

SUITABLE TERMINUS REGISTERED, HOW QUAINT!

-{WOULD YOU LIKE TO PEEK BEHIND THE SCENES?}-]

(Huh? … What the fuck!?)

The air grows heavier than the Chapel’s could ever achieve in a moment.

But rather than simple mystery, a great revelation is only thinly kept from him by walls which play and scamper about in a mash of foresty and silvery colors.

The violet moon called

???

begins to peer in through Neesiette’s window with great interest, its smile widening as its multitude of shapes

EYES

look for who is calling to it.

A mutating book-flower called Codex Rantilius turns its closed bud toward the boy as the twisting stem undulates.

Screams begin to bore through him as it blooms to reveal the discord beneath the petals.

The entire room comes alive as the objects strewn across the floor begin walking around, before they turn on each other and begin the great slaughter.

Pale blood coats every surface as the end of the world starts.

[ALL OF THE KNOWLEDGE OF CREATION WONDERS AT WHAT—?]

“NO!”

Still ringing, the cross he clutches with both hands continues to do so for a time.

Even though only the quiet of the dark night and the noises from the front room can be heard else wise…

[“No” what!? Don’t scare me like that by suddenly screaming!]

Breathing techniques work on body, heart, and mind as Adris tries to focus, but a splitting headache makes it much more difficult.

A room that was degenerating into madness is completely the same as he takes it in again.

The source of that madness shows what he was afraid of.

[Obtained the first glimpse into the true nature and plan of the Alchemaster by treading through places that kind souls must constantly shoo young boys from with great care.] (LUSTER), (CASTILLO), (GRAND GAME), (?PURE ILLUSION?)

(… Did Cethran… intervene again?)

A monstrous priestess potentially toys with him even in a sanctum, one which Still and Meltisha’s joint magics should ward against all threats.

[What’s your problem!? What did you see—!?]

“Shut up. Never bring this up again.”

The page stays blank on these words as he resolves to treat that former presence as something even worse than the Alchemaster or Cethran.

(That wasn’t the presence of evil. It was the absolute dissolution of sanity on request! And it relates to this “Grand Game”…)

Only by the cross’ interference did he avoid infringing on that presence’s degenerating details.

“… Let’s just move to what I can do with these ‘accomplishments’. … First, what is self-revival?”

[Hm? Well, when you did that investiture, you used up all the power of the cross at that moment, so you dropped dead of draining.

… Kukuku, nearly instantly.]

(The fuck!?)

That feeling of torpor had resulted in him seemingly falling unconscious, but now the girls’ concerns over his health are proved absolutely correct.

“I can use it all up!?”

[No power be infinite except in moderation. Fortunately, a kobold close to one provided the impetus to claim the accomplishment.

“Boss, must wake up! Kol, need!

Kol, NEVER LET END!”

… So the cross gobbled up the accomplishment and y’know.]

(They can influence the cross, too?)

This hidden part is all that saved him from his own over eagerness.

“I see. And you can tell me its state, then?”

[If you think to ask, ahahaha! But yes, if you want information you can look~!]

(… Annoying imp!)

[{A BLACK CROSS}

-Min- (🩸🩸🩸————————————) -Max-

Rantil’s Advice: “I wouldn’t go around trying to empower a snail without the right mojo on hand~!”]

(I’m burning it all out!?)

“Wait, does using the darkness this thing forces on me during combat sap this reservoir!?”

[Not at all! In fact, it’s self-contained, for struggle fuels itself~!]

“Then what about the boons!? If I’m using them, then why did it take the reserved power, too!?”

[In both cases, you instilled power with an excess component not covered.

For Chill and Kindle, you bound them to that macho dickhead. The boon covered only altering them, not him!

For the gaggle of them, you didn’t anticipate Echo calling her own mystery back by causing the shining she did, so it stole from both of you!]

The cross which has both aided and tormented him also excels in being unpredictable.

(Just like what gave birth to it…)

[… Kukuku, ignore all that has transpired previously, for this time one may gain so much more than simple insight from a codex!

Seek out a form for it! Let its soul become real to you!]

Beginning with great gusto, Rantil calls for darkness!

(… I’ve been thinking about this for some time now. The cross’ job is to empower people… And this accomplishment was used for me at Kol’s behest and not for Rantil, correct?)

Born from his original technique and the investiture, the cross which was consumed by darkness should reflect that truth somehow.

(So why couldn’t I…?)

Words form much, much faster, spilling over the page like dropped ink.

[Grant me my deserved form! Let us conquer everything in the name of a false god!

Thy name, oh true owner! Dedicate a body to thy flesh and service!

For the sake of slaking one’s lusts…!]

Proud words etch themselves into the pages, stylized and flamboyant loops that draw his eyes to consider them as sincere.

(… Too eager.)

A codex that made an oath to give ever truthful answers and to always be useful, also never specified when they would be given or if she would allow others to have a stake in power she might want.

Because who could use accomplishments was never defined, Adris had a mental blind spot until now.

[… Adris, all you gotta do is put the cross on me and I’ll be awesome! …

… please? What the girls can do for your libido pales in comparison to what I’d do.

I’m waaaaaay more interesting… like that… so… come on… you gotta…]

Putting the bracer he obtained from Anaxis on the desk beside Rantil, Adris mentally picks which accomplishment fits its nature.

(Neesiette said it enhances strength. So, let’s give it Kol’s awakening which also includes “apotheosis”, the act of reaching a perfect state…!)

[…]

“Alright, I’ve decided. By the power which is contained by a black cross…”

Placing the cross on the bracer, he feels its presence intensify considerably. So, too, do his boots. There is anger, competitiveness, and eagerness flowing from them with red eyes to cloud his view.

[NONONONO! GIVE IT TO MEEEEEEEEEE! (;ﾟ;∀;ﾟ; ) ]

“… oh impossible darkness, grant true life to this object and its soul!”

(… That sounds right?)

Whispers of the eternal dark congratulate, insult, and threaten him as they come from every shadow.

Like a drop of tarry night, the obsidian leaks onto the bracer.

When it touches, color floods back into the piece, changing its shape and emotion as it squirms.

An earthquake comes to Petripolis with a shaking that knocks over nothing but Adris.

In the presence of this bracer, he feels the crushing weight of a mountain as his body collapses.

Willing himself to rise, he finds the bracer barely within reach.

(YOU TRASH! You’re supposed to become mine, not the other way around!)

When the bracer that thrums with the earth touches his skin, it magically ties itself to his arm once it senses his refusal to succumb.

When he wears it…

Adris becomes the mountain and all of its majesty.

Until it passes.

Just like with the rabbit boots and its disappearing red eyes, the mountain fades from his consciousness as the shaking stops.

Climbing back into the chair with a new feeling of empowerment as his muscles flex, a winning smile is given to his closest “confidant”.

“… You cheeky bitch.”

[… now… let’s not… get… excited…! ( ´ ▽ ` )ﾉ]

Already moving her toward the nearest candle, the pages fill with desperate pleas as they turn, sensually rubbing against Adris’ hand as he lowers it to the flame.

(… I still need her, though.)

[… And in summary, I am incredibly sorry and realize what I’ve done wrong, and also have become a new Rantil.]

“I don’t believe you’ve changed for a second, but it’s fine. You want to be strong for my sake?”

[Yeah! For my Adris!]

“I don’t belong to you!”

[… Oh noble Crossbearer, consider our inseparable Fates and how much we mean to each other!]

“You’re not a liar. You’re worse. You’re a manipulator.”

[I know you are, but what am I!?]

“… You fuckin’…!”

More tortured crying later, Rantil calms enough for Adris to get on with the second act.

“Why not just tell me!?”

[Because you’ll rush off, and give it all away to the girls or some homeless person before giving it to Rantil!? You already don’t trust her just because of what she is!]

“Because you do shit like this!”

The whining pages scrawl quicker as the argument heats up more, but what she says next brings him to choke a bit.

[RANTIL IS TIRED OF BEING A BOOK! … She can’t even move.

Can’t help.

Can’t… speak.

… Can’t… touch anything.

… Can never again feel the real touch of…?

Can’t even escape.

If Adris ever forgets Rantil, she’ll be here forever until one day…

She isn’t, however long that takes…

So…

Please…?]

(Stop playing for my empathies! You’re just a horror from the dark!)

With his head in his hands, he rubs his eyes while wondering what he would do in her situation.

(… Nothing different. Except I would’ve successfully fooled the person who owned the book.)

“If I give you power too, you cannot harm me with it?”

[I can if someone forces me to, but I won’t seek to harm you by my own actions.]

“… You will also say ‘I won’t try—’”

[I won’t try to get someone else to harm or interfere with you, either! Jeeeez, you try to pull one little joke over on someone and he gets all—

Well, that’s still hot~!

I’m sorry, let’s get back to…]

Needing her to be more useful, too, Adris brings back up the accomplishments he has in reserve.

“Just enough to get you what you want, but nothing extraneous.”

[Chintzy owner…~!

… Hoh, that will do. “DOMINATION” and “DESIRE” are mutual needs for my existence, so it should be sufficient despite the lower tier of accomplishment.]

(Now to get stabbed in the back, probably.)

Placing the cross on the book, the same whispers come without him needing to intone a command…

But as darkness fills the page, one whisper in particular gains prominence.

“… thank you…~!”

Rampaging screams of horror and laughing uncertainty fill the room.

Falling out of his chair for the second time in one night, Adris watches the torrent of aural dread the book becomes appearing as a blackness like fluttering insects.

It flies haphazardly around the room before returning to the desk.

Shadows bleed into existence as legs slowly coalesce from this torrent to become a seated girl.

The chattering madness that attacks Adris becomes a tattered and frayed cloak covering her white-skinned body. Moving with a wind that is not present, this sole source of proper clothing appears to have its own life.

(… Humanoid, but inhuman to the core!)

Irregularly shaped, high-heeled leather boots drip up her legs, while her forming hands gain dainty gloves of the same worn substance. Spirals of cloth wind up her limbs to become flirtatious undergarments.

“Hmmmm!? It feels quite…!”

Crossing her legs to prevent Adris from staring at the treasure between them which isn’t covered by her lingerie, she stares down from beneath a black wimple which allows two full, purple twintails to escape out the sides.

“What would the words be, though…!?”

Unlike with her previous rambunctiousness, there’s a different glint in her green eyes.

A hint of black swirls breaks through the color as she grins a bit unsettlingly.

“… Rantil?”

Rising to face this possible threat, Adris finds she does the same before creeping toward him.

Her stark face with black diamonds under her eyes glows with obsession…

(But despite that, she’s still… very…)

With a butt no doubt as gropeable as before, he can forgive her petite breasts and slender limbs. Her thighs are still inviting enough as they creep out from her cloak to be tasted by his sight.

That youthful face now has a tinge of womanliness to it like a hunting cat’s focus.

“MMM, YES!

SMOOCHIES~!”

“Fucki—NGN!?”

Already slipping her tongue into his mouth, the young girl in appearance eagerly shows affection that few others ever have to Adris as she jumps up to wrap her body around his.

The boy stumbles about while holding her up, desperately trying to keep his balance as her lascivious attack continues.

(She’s so slippery with her tongue! I can’t pin it!)

A darting snake toys with his own as she easily maintains the upper hand. This deep kiss grows into a passionate hug as his hands sink into her butt without realizing it.

(GET OFF!)

Rather than throw her away, though, Adris stops holding her and forces gravity to pull her away while panting.

“… Get a hold of yourself!”

“Um… Hmm~?”

Licking her black lips, she uneasily trots backward to the desk and sits back down.

“… Kukuku…!”

What was only written before in an annoying way becomes a maddening sort of laugh when voiced in the flesh by this evil-looking spirit who lifts and lowers her head.

The way her strange eyes bore into him becomes a trap for his own to become lost in.

“… As if a Crossbearer didn’t desire it…! Secrets cannot be hidden from one born from, and destined to know, them…!

You longed for…!”

“I’ll be the judge of that!”

“GYAH!?”

Lunging forward, he flicks her on the cheek while sneering.

She cradles the wound while hissing back.

“WHY!? Rantil knew you wanted to taste, so she—!”

“… You’re just as perverted as normal!”

“Says you!”

Pointing at Adris and kicking her legs up in disgust, the girl can’t find a comfortable middle between unnerving and precocious, yet still forces him to dodge her strikes like the brat she is.

(I thought it was just you being weird for laughs…)

Looking nothing like an imp anymore, the personality still survives in part as she whistles while taking in the room.

“Ugh, that ‘elf’ (hah!) sure has shitty taste! Though not as bad as ‘her highness’ the midget does, setting up a shrine to herself!

… Kukuku, there’s more honesty from a boyish loudmouth who wallows like a pig than the other two, correct!?”

“… Those are my servants, Rantil. Be careful.”

“Rantil was first, Crossbearer!”

A sharp squeal from her comes with revealed fangs, before the girl switches tack when Adris draws back.

Flicking her hair, she calms completely before impishly grinning.

“Hum, hum, don’t worry. You’ll get to taste them all eventually~. It’s not like they want to stop you, right?”

“That’s not the point…”

(… Is she okay?)

Jumping down from the desk, Rantil tiptoes around the room while looking at everything.

“… Did you… become ‘yourself’ correctly?”

“Hm!? Ah, Rantil is perfectly fine~! Oooh, questioning kindness deserves more kisses! The frame is great and she can finally be what she was meant to beeeee~!”

Unlike with her impish form, there’s no sweet perfume clinging to her.

Instead, there’s a slight sense that nothing is quite right. It draws him to seek the truth underneath her cloak.

Returning to him, she stands at attention and gives a formal bow with her hand across her breasts. Loose twintails dangle freely to match.

“… For that, thanks be deserved. Trust given shall be returned, doubt that not at all.”

“Of course. I have no doubts about Rantil’s sincerity on liking me…”

“YAY! That actually sounded like you mean it~?”

“… but I’m wondering why you seem split between two different ways of acting?”

Her bubbliness vanishes, to be replaced by the smooth flourish of her hand going to his chin.

“That would be simple to explain, hardly a secret at all! How can Rantil properly change when so much of her is mixed elsewhere?”

(… Mixed…?)

Quickly swallowing at the implication growing in his mind, he remembers someone warning him…

(… “Though it might be amusing to watch you degenerate into an imp”, was that…?)

“Rantil. When you possessed me in the Chapel, we were…?”

“RIGHT! Just like when Rantil and Adris joined our needs on that bridge… at least in part, that lonesome Chapel with that Old Goat was where we truly married, kyaaa~!”

“What do you mean ‘married’!?”

Twirling about the room with amazing grace despite the trash piles, Rantil’s fluttering cape adds a dark charm to her humming dance.

“Rantil and Adris ceased to be two sources of dread briefly! Instead, they… were one! In almost perfect harmony~!”

The dance stops the instant Adris puts his hands roughly on her.

“… You never said we’d… mix!”

“A Crossbearer must’ve guessed it could happen anyway, as he isn’t too surprised to hear the truth. Isn’t it more likely that a clever man simply hoped he could ignore the obvious?”

That maddening smile is back as she chastises him. Dainty hands creep around him, while his come up to her breasts and neck.

“Hahaha! Adris, it’s so easy. Part of Adris is Rantil, and part of Rantil is Adris!

Nothing lost, just a bit different, right~?”

“… You… and me…?”

“Right, right! When Rantil got punched out by that rainbow monster, she was swept away with the rest of the friends when the honeymoon ended!

… But… a Crossbearer did something.”

That something is a fond memory for Rantil as she looks drunk on it.

(I got the cross…)

At the edge of existence before the Beyond, a Veil forced him to “evolve”.

“Kukuku! When exposed to that, Rantil could hardly hope to escape unscathed. What transpired flowed between, returning everything to a new ‘normal’!

Adris as the ‘greater’, and Rantil as the ‘lesser’.”

The haughty girl loses her tension as she takes up his hands and squeezes.

“Rantil was remade to complement Adris. Together, we got this~!”

(… I’ve got… her inside me. Which means… all those evil feelings were…?)

Every time he thought of forcing himself on one of the girls.

When he considered taking out his aggressions on someone while fulfilling his own sexual thoughts.

Falling into depravity with Kindle, Chill, and Echo.

“… This bizarre technique I gained that I used on the kobolds…?”

“Ahahaha! [Invitation to Darkness]~!? It’s waaaaay more useful than you think! You just have to be willing to use it.”

Her twintails jump with her as the cheery girl hops up and down.

“When you forced that brick-headed girl to surrender, you were… sooooo like a gentleman~. Rantil was spiritually wet watching you make her yours, just like she should be…!”

Even if she has no tail, her cloak of uneven length animates a bit like one at the back when she evilly grins.

“A little drop of imp goes a long way to opening you up! Just think of how many emotions you’ve shown that you once hid away? Even that shitty masked girl likes your new vibes!”

(… She’s been… rotting my mind and soul from the inside…?)

“Oh, what you did to that cheeky red-haired kobold was the best!

Sensitivity to the max~!

And thrusting wild into her in front of the other two just to drive the point home!”

(You were peeking the whole time as you pushed me along…?)

“… Rantil is gonna like this ‘Kol’ girl a lot! Unlike the rest, she’s shaping up to be a good influence on you! Just like you are on her!”

The girl who cannot shut up about his “exploits” leans in next to his face as he stares at nothing in particular.

“A Crossbearer shows manliness that’s at odds with his figure, a delightful temptation to all who notice the difference. This addition to a discordant appeal drives them to wonder and fear. Everything about him becomes a new experience that breaks down their barriers and enlightens their thoughts.

… So why not embrace it more, Adris~?”

“… Is this… this… all because of you?”

Choking on the question, something is boiling inside of his gut.

She blinks at him before smiling innocently.

“Hm? No. Rantil doesn’t make anything happen…!”

The cloak she wears is becoming a hindrance.

Eyes full of expectation are sweet like only a touch of youth can show.

The nubile body he feels with hands moving down her side is ready.

While there’s no sweet smell, Adris can already tell from her flushed face that she’s…

“… Kukuku! Rantil just watches the Crossbearer play with the secret thoughts he can’t tell anyone about! They were always yours, but now Rantil can share her ideas, too! Finding yourself when you dig down, a bit at a time, to uncover needs scratching away at you inside before—

KYAAA!?”

The white-skinned brat screams as she plows into the bed face first.

But it’s not full of terror.

“… Adris~!?”

Before she can move, he’s on her body.

Pulling off that purple cloth he wears, he drags her hands behind her back and roughly ties them up.

“What… what are you…?”

The girl who shares a similar stature to his own is easy to control now.

First off is her head cloth, pulled free to uncover her hair and the delicious nape of her neck.

“… Hahaha… Adris… is… strong…?”

Weak legs and hips buck against his body, implying she wants to avoid proceeding.

(… Manipulating liar…!)

With his hand pressing down on her back, he lifts up the cloak covering her to reveal her juicy butt.

“W-w-w-wait..!? MMmmm!?”

Fingers thrust into the tight hole she tries to protect show that the legs clamping to stop him are also another lie.

This female creature is soaking wet.

(… Everything is just because you want it!)

Clumsy movements come as he removes his pants, while the girl he forces into the bed breathes unsteadily and keeps kicking.

“… Hah, Adris! Rantil is just…!”

“Shut up.”

“Wha!? … Ah… No, you can’t…”

By the time his braies come down, his mast is already ready to split her. An eye full of expectant madness widens as Rantil stares sideways back at him.

“You… can’t…!”

Kicking off the breeches, Adris climbs onto her and rubs himself into the cleft of her butt.

Choosing to struggle harder at the last minute, Rantil creeps forward as Adris disregards her thoughts to hunt her.

(You were responsible for everything…!)

Trapping her legs between his, he lines up the head to pierce through. Hitting the wrong entrance at the first push and running into cloth, Rantil cries out in frustration and fear before he corrects.

(Not again… here!)

Pushing lower, eager lips part to noisily let him inside as the enraged blood coursing through him exults in satisfaction.

“OOOOHHHMMMMmmmphhh…!”

“Tight! Good…!”

Rantil’s head is ground into the bed by his hand as Adris bottoms out into her with one push, grunting as she bucks wildly at the sudden fullness. Her prone figure is trapped by a man’s anger, with her butt forced at an angle to allow best entry.

A dry dick is instantly slick, which grants the pleasure he sought to claim when he pulls out to begin hammering into her as fast as he can in this position. Gravity is a help and also a hindrance, forced as he is to stay up with one arm while the other restrains her.

Silky hair is harshly gripped between his fingers. Her throaty screams, with that annoying shrillness she always has that makes someone want to bully her, are muffled as the slapping of her butt overwhelms them.

(Just the right warmth! Tight like Kol, but so obviously needy!)

A texture unlike any other proves this inhuman hole is intentionally formed to serve a man’s dick. Just like in his inner expanse, the movements of her clenching muscles force the folds to envelop him with love that her resistance seeks to hide.

(This proves that it doesn’t matter what you want!)

Already her legs are hitting against his butt as her calves lift them with the pleasure of the force he’s giving to her.

Gouging out this young girl’s pussy while being the same size is something Adris hasn’t felt since…

(I always liked holding Serras back then! Even if it was rough sometimes, before everything changed she let me do this! She’d cling to me, too! Despite not knowing what to do sometimes, she entrusted her body and would just moan what she wanted at times…!)

The sense of distance that came later was due to Fatso’s schemes and roping Adris into them.

(I only ever wanted to hold her! After I found out what it… felt like inside her, I just wanted to be doing this!)

Releasing Rantil’s head after she ceases to resist, Adris listens to this girl’s deceitful moans as he continues to abuse her body.

(You’re not her, though! Not innocent at all! Only… good for…!)

The slick passage that eagerly serves him is bringing him to a fast conclusion. Only a couple of minutes of slamming into her makes him want to dump all of his hatred and evil thoughts to fill at her womb.

That passage’s end is so easy to reach, molding against his head as he brutalizes it.

“Stupid imp!”

“… HOOOOH!? Rantil… ishn’t… shtupid!”

“Yes you are! You’re a stupid imp with a thirsty pussy! … You were… just watching me suffer in there while laughing, weren’t you!?”

“… NNng!? … No fair…!”

“You don’t even… have a tail, huh… for me to bite anymore!”

That perfect outlet for his aggression vanished, leaving him wondering why he misses it so much.

(I’m going to cum! … And you’re going to take it all!)

Drilling her against the bed is the only revenge he has right now.

Nothing will be quite as humiliating as filling her up as she’s forced to take it.

“… Take it, Rantil! From the guy you hate and treat like shit, take it all…!”

“NNAH!? AH, AH!”

He shakes with the feeling of golden pleasure squeezing out into her. What feel like buckets of his cum are deposited into this unwilling tool that is forced to climax with him.

Shrilly screaming twice before he pushes her face back into the bed, she slaps his butt with her legs while shaking with the feeling of his fluids flowing into her.

With that feeling of physical and pleasant release, Adris also feels his dark thoughts sigh when this one is answered.

(Again… something is shared with her…)

“Ahh, you’re the best… at taking it, Rantil…

… what a… slut.”

“… HNGHMPH…!?”

When he thrusts in a few more times to milk that feeling of her vice-like slit, she shivers while choking on the sheets.

(… Perfect.)

Pulling off of her while forcing her legs away from his butt, he leaves her pussy open as he falls to the side. When he releases her head, she remains motionless except for twitching.

(… Finally, you shut up and stop making my soul hurt with all the bullshit you whine about! All it takes… is… showing you…

… ah, fuck…)

All of the dark thoughts he accused her of being responsible for seem awfully fulfilling having lived one out just now.

When this girl could no longer resist him, Adris felt alive in a new way.

(I’m the monster, too.)

The afterglow of their copulation leaves him sober enough to recognize this dark road he constantly tries to stagger down on Zennia.

(Even if she’s… what she is, that’s…)

“… sho gut…!”

(?!?)

The quivering girl with a cloak thrown up over her bound hands turns to face him while forced to keep her thighs apart by the tenderness.

“… Rahntil kept it all… inshide… sho gut…! Mmm… Adrish gave Rahntil hish firsht… real manly sexsh…!

Rahntil… did goodht… right…!?”

A dopey smile is what this unsettling creature gives him. Covered in her own tears and slobber, that unseemly way she looks at him shows how depraved she is, but also eager to please him.

Scooting closer to him, a mess of a girl who is still bound at her hands leans in to kiss him gently on the lips.

“… Mmmm… formur Mashtur… really… can’t live without… Rahntil…~!”

“… Aren’t you…?”

“Huh?”

While he expected her to be broken for a moment or angry beyond words, instead she looks as if she’s been given the best present a woman can receive.

“… Ahaha… Adrish is shtill kind~? Hum, hum, are you… shorry for pummeling Rahntil like that? Uhntil she could only… cum… and noht walk…?”

Breathy words that can’t reach stability taunt him.

“No, I’m not! You’re so fucking annoying!”

“Oh~!?

… Hoh… so, a Crossbearer is not… sorry for leaving his vigorous seed for an evil allip to gulp up into her womb? Ahhh… No matter how… pleasurable… what if the result is more horrors…?”

Ditzty laughing gives way to an aggressive stare, inviting him to comprehend the creature he’s possibly inseminating.

(This again!)

A sturdy embrace pulls the cheeky girl in, for even these weird words are only tempting him more.

“It’s a little late to care about that! My life is full of horrors! … No, you’re mine, so why shouldn’t I breed you the way I want to.”

A very hidden “secret” is picked at by this girl he turns around.

The second wave of lust that comes over him derives from that need which causes his loins to burn, while she hisses gleefully at the abusive way he says it.

“AH!? More? Can you not resist that call…!?

… Adrish, I want to be… a part of you…!”

“Then have some more!”

“Kyaa~!”

Rantil’s cloak is ripped off from her as she protests feebly, pulling free as if it’s composed only of liquid that easily flows away.

(… So strange…!)

Throwing the light, radiance-consuming clothing away, the outrageous lingerie she’s wearing underneath draws his hands with the black, silky feeling of it. Covering none of her most important parts, it instead serves to divide the whiteness of her flesh into distinct areas of enjoyment.

Her leg gets turned up into the air as she lays on her side, allowing his cock to slide over her soaking lips as he explores her. Petite hands manage to rub on his stomach while tied, inviting him to do the same.

“This lacy underwear has a hole in it?”

“… Right!? How… else can you… bend me over anywhere you want to… and… take me when I least expect it!?”

“Who says I want to do that!?”

“… Kukuku, everything ingrained in a male’s blood screams for it! Claim those dreams of excess, emotion, and an all-consuming need!”

“You pervert! Why bother wearing… a brassiere which doesn’t cover breasts you don’t have in the first place…?”

Moaning the question as he thrusts against her lips, she responds with anything but displeasure.

“What are you, hmm, talking about, Adris~!? … If… another girl had worn this… you would’ve loved to lick and feel…~! Ah, tiny boobies aren’t bad for you, right~?

… you like that… midget and snake enough…”

A whisper of jealousy comes at the end of her raunchy thoughts.

(You can’t have me all to yourself! … But I’ll make you all mine. Nobody else gets to claim you.)

She sighs as his dick re-enters her wet and sloshing passage.

No matter how tightly she’s held his semen in, he’s forced to slide against it as it lubricates his re-entry before pulling out with his slide.

“… AH!? More… more is… getting ouuuuutt!?”

“Stop whining! I’ll leave plenty more behind…!”

“… Promish!? Aahnnn!”

While he holds up her leg and thrusts in with a new lease on sex, the limber girl manages to turn enough to present her black lips for his.

A sloppy kiss shuts her up again as their bodies move to keep this dance continuing. No longer brutalizing her, Adris feels a little calmer without hunting against resistance.

(… But I also sort of miss that feeling.)

Rantil isn’t the kind of girl that draws him in with romance…

“… nha… lick, hum… hum, booooring…!”

“What!?”

That insulting word causes his teeth to grind, because the face she gives before she turns away is lazy with how her flushed cheeks pout.

For a bratty slut laying on a bed and serving at Adris’ convenience, she sounds mighty self-important.

“… huh, Adris was… much more manly… bef— OOORRE!?

OH, OH, OH!?”

“You… just can’t… hah, help yourself!”

Digging his nails into Rantil’s raised leg, she responds with only feminine grunts and squeals as he aims for home again. The mess left at the end of her passage isn’t sufficient for the girl, for his head is massaged as it rushes to kiss it.

“Moar! Adrish! Rahntil mished thish thick dick~!”

“Slutty and hungry…!”

Joined flesh heats up quickly to riotous pleasure, but she only ever demands more.

“DEEPER! PLEASH!”

(It can’t go, ah, deeper! You’re the same size as me!)

Pulling out of her, he lays her on her stomach again before hoisting her up by the waist. Squatting behind her, he aims downward as he slams into the girl without mercy.

“GOOHDT! THERE! OOOH!”

“… A… firm ass… for a little girl…!”

“HIT IT! PLEASH!”

Constant slapping sounds prove how efficiently he plows into the almost weightless girl he uses like a tool.

(I wasn’t… made for this! Only she was!)

Aggressive sex like this isn’t Adris’ normal style. The burden of keeping her locked in the right position to bottom out inside of isn’t a physical one, but rather one of concentration.

No matter how slick the feeling and deep the smell of their sex, the inability to taste her in some other way leaves him wondering what the quivering girl’s skin is like on his tongue.

“OH! OH! OH! PLAPPING AGAINSHT… RAHNTIL’S BUTT…! CAN FEEL IT UP HER SPINE…!”

Even the thought of teasing her clit and sucking at her juices fills him momentarily, but it passes by when she starts screaming.

“USHE RAHNTIL! RAHNTIL’S PUSSHY! ALL FOR… ADRISH!”

“…! Shit! Cum your brains out, you miserable liar!”

Like a magic spell the cross can’t defend against, those words lead him to more mindless thrusting. Becoming stupid as he continues, only his own panting mixing with hers counts as pillow talk.

Rutting animals taint the bed that two other girls use, with her juices and his semen falling out to sprinkle the sheets. Slick lips cling to his shaft, with the innocence of a girl’s appearance missing from the service she provides.

(… Ah, ah, I’m so screwed when they come in! Rantil, you always fuck me over…! Now.. I’m…!)

“… Ugh, get ready!”

“ALWAYSH REAHDY! Hmmm! Moar! Pleash!”

For the second time in rapid succession, a jet of white cum flies out to begin filling the clinging hole that loves him in a way no other’s ever has.

That wild release teases her the same way it does Still, driving the hungry girl over the edge, too.

“AAAAAHHHHH! CUHMMING! CUHmmin—ng…!”

(OOOoooh… I’m… not gonna lose to it…!)

That rogue thought is quickly suppressed as he feels drool fall onto Rantil’s hot back.

“… Adrish dihk sho… nishe…~!”

Milking walls easily claim the total release of his seed, before he pulls out and drops her.

“Kyaa!? … ADRISH!?”

“Ah, sorry.”

Before he realizes it…

He’s cradling the girl to him in a tight hug, enjoying the wind down of their second coitus.

“… Hmmm…!? Adrish…? Haha, you’re so…~!”

“Shut up! … huh… would you… prefer I step on your pussy and yell abuse at you!?”

“OH!? May—maymaymaybe that might be fun~!”

Squirming at the erotic delusion, the girl who has changed the most since the Castillo in form, if not soul, drools happily onto him in turn.

Purple hair that smells now of female excitement is his last treasure enjoyed before he thinks to part from her.

“Adris… Rantil… doesn’t… hate—!”

“I know.”

Already untying her, the evil purple cloth that can bind darkness is tossed away.

Immediately after, the girl hugs him while rubbing along his wet skin.

“… Well… wellllll… that was… fun…!”

“Yeah… you’re never dull.”

“If Adris ever needs to let something go, well, Rantil is here. Please don’t hide behind a mask with me, okay~?”

(I never know what is true and false with you.)

Though nothing is really different in their relationship, Adris at least found a place to bounce his fears about his own lusts on.

(… She’s not afraid of me. If I have needs… I can trust her to accept them. If I fear losing myself, she will likely help me.

But… I can’t use her for the one thing I really needed…!)

The aftermath of having sex with Rantil is simply a desire to have more sex with her, not a cleansing of that need.

“… Rantil. Allips do the same as imps, don’t they?”

“Hmmm?”

“Even if you don’t smell sweet, that uncertain feeling just… makes a male’s body want to keep going forever, doesn’t it?”

“Ah…?

… Kukuku… why would it not? Is not the desire of a male, his deepest secret, simply to see how deeply he can break a girl? Is it also not a female’s deepest secret to want to be… broken…?

KUKUKUKU!”

That annoying laugh comes with haughty information that invalidates the whole point of this experience.

(… I will punt you into—!)

“BOSS, Kol wants to—!”

A door is ripped open by a jangling monster.

(… Ah.)

“… Huh!? Hmm?”

Sniffing sounds come with the girl approaching, but the situation isn’t as dire as Adris first thought. Even if he’s half curled up and naked on the bed, he’s at least only awkward to look at.

For what he clutches is a book accented by purple swirls instead of a thoroughly creampied girl.

“… Umu, Boss, why… are you…?”

“… Well… there is…”

“OH!?”

Slapping her leg, Kol nods her helmet as she comes to a quick answer.

“Waiting for Kol!? Snifffff… Hmm? Too hard to wait, so go alone!? … Kakaka, Kol understands!”

The pack she carries is thrown into the corner, followed dangerously by her helmet.

“Good handicap! Others, left, so… Boss!”

Adris escapes to the head of the bed, but the girl has already stripped most of her ruined mail off and is working on her gambeson.

Hungry pink eyes spell his doom as she tries to lunge at his still soaking cock to lick it.

“OFF! OFF! Kol! You…!”

“BOSS! CONTEST, NOW! KOL! WANT!”

The sexmad kobold turned on by the smells soaking the room and sheets grips his legs and starts slurping his limp cock before he can get away.

“Oh!? Tender!”

“… UMU, TASTY~! … Huh!? Boss, why another taste!? WHO!?”

(Shut up! Get… GET OFF!)

Because she knows what it can do, Kol is already restraining the left arm that holds his cross before he can end the encounter.

“Kakaka, good try! But, Kol learns her lessons~!”

Working free her pants and shimmying out of them, the white-haired warrior climbs into his lap and begins to mount Adris’ unfortunately enlarging son.

(Nonono, I will die! I will… not lose to you!)

When that thought combines with the strong feeling of weight flowing through his body, his right arm winds up with wood-like snapping sounds coming from it.

“Inside, Kol wants! Good feeling, slick and— HMMM!?”

Kol impacts the wall before Adris realizes what he did.

A right punch to her face causes the juggernaut to fall onto the desk, making it creak heavily and shake.

She sits on it while blinking stupidly at the boy who socked her. Though she saw it coming and had a premonition of danger, no time was left to react.

Not even her bizarre Talents prevented her flight.

“… Huh?”

Bringing her hand up to her mouth, blackness stains the fur as she pulls away.

(I did that? To this… indestructible brick— HAAAAH!?)

Enormous pain shoots through his right arm.

Whatever power aided him, the appendage wearing the recently awakened bracer now feels incredibly sore.

(… It worked!?)

“… Hmmm? Boss… good punch. Very… manly!”

“Huh? … Oh, right! Don’t infringe on my authority, Kol!”

Slurping her bleeding lip, Kol calms considerably while looking at Adris with even lewder eyes.

His look turns taciturn as he points the cross at his subordinate.

“I said no, and that’s what I mean. You earned your ‘contest’, but I’m the only one—!”

“KAKAKAKAKA!”

Laughing without stopping, Kol’s mad humor silences him.

“Umu, holding back before!? Kol, always felt it was weird! Boss, the strongest, but always seemed kinda weak sometimes…?”

“I keep saying that what you see is—!”

“Yeah, yeah. Only… um, ‘vestige of power’. Okay… Kol try later, if Boss serious.”

The tomboy comes to sit on the bed next to him, smelling now of her own peculiar, needy scent.

“… Sure Boss doesn’t want any ‘relief’?”

“No! I’m fine.” While not strictly true due to Rantil’s lingering effect, he will easily survive without further help. “Are you in need of something?”

“Huh… maybe, Kol might… need later…~!”

Putting on her pants again, she cringes at the wet-fabric feeling no doubt afflicting her as it clings. Kol seems more amiable than before when she smiles at him.

“Huh, Puddle wrong! Boss, strong~! Shitty Puddle, Kol was right~! Like always—!”

Kol jabbers on about him and Still, while reaching out to grip Adris’ hand that hit her and squeezing it gently.

In turn, he lays back in bed to relax.

(I will never get any rest, will I? Between horny girls and my own condition, now I’ve added that… allip to the mix.

Rantil, you better be more useful than just as a masturbation tool or partner who I try dangerous fetishes with!)

More than just Rantil’s usefulness, Adris has “accomplishments” left to foist on the others.

(Ave first! From what I read of Meltisha’s notes, Lycia can’t be beaten without Ave serving as my ultimate weapon.)

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Chapter 67         Table of Contents          Chapter 69