Kapitel 80: Where the Shadows lie...
As they sat there in the silence, his 'wife' looked up at him and smiled a little.
"You're distracted." She said.
"What do you mean?" He raised a brow at her.
"Don't give me that." She shook her head. "We've spent enough time together for me to know when your mind is elsewhere. Come on, tell me. What's making you tick tonight when your attention should be on me?"
"Don't word it like that then." He rolled his eyes. "You guilt trip me into telling you afterwards."
"Precisely why I talk like that." She grinned. "Come on, spill it. Or I'll be spilling something else."
"Don't threaten me with a good time." He chuckled as he folded an arm behind his head. "It's just been a long day...and so much has happened. I guess now that the drama is over, it's left a lot to look back on."
"You're telling me." Tiona laughed. "All that planning, all that anticipation, just for a couple of hours of smacking people around who may as well be little babies to you." Tiona then put her chin on his right pec as she smiled coyly up at him. "So...my husband is over a thousand years old? I wasn't aware I was married to an old fossil."
"Hey." He said as he sat up so his upper body came out of the blanket more and flexed his arms so that muscles bulged out all over. "Which part of this is prehistoric?"
"Hmm. I don't know...where do I begin?" She said mockingly as she trailed a finger over his 12 pack. Ottar had a bigger frame than him, but Steve definitely had way more muscles. She pressed onto one of his abdominals...there was a moment of softness as her fingertip pushed past the skin layer before it would just not budge any further, like someone trying to poke a hole in a steel wall.
Bear in mind, she was a level five. She could very well use her fingers to poke holes into actual steel walls but the fact that even without tensing, his stomach was impervious to her touch no matter how much strength she put behind the action spoke a lot on how powerful he was. It was little wonder that from such a sturdy, strong body came such explosive power that could blow away the King.
Of course he was talented with his own fingers in other ways but that was something for another time...
"You've done well for yourselves." Tiona said. "Made a name for yourself throughout the world. Established contracts with all other major and most powerful Familia. Subdued two other Familia into your service, one of which is amongst the strongest that Orario has to offer. Which reminds me, what do you intend to do with all those Amazons?" She narrowed her eyes suspiciously at him, but he could detect the subtle teasing in her undertone.
"Dunno. Probably give them to Makena, who might put them to work in the kitchens." He said. "She's food obsessed, so I understand she might want to open a restaurant chain. Who knows?"
"It's not that simple Steve." She said. "Even as a subordinate Familia, you can't just put aprons on them and have them pick up wooden ladles. I'm not that smart but even I know it's going to be a lot more complex than that, especially where Ishtar is concerned."
"I'm well aware." He said. "And to be honest, I didn't care much for them. The subordinating thing was Ptah's idea, not mine. Why would I care for a bunch of loose Amazons when I have the best one in the world right beside me?" He cuddled her a little as he smiled suggestively while she just looked away a little with a wry smile.
"You don't need to take it that far." She said in a quieter tone.
"I will take it that far." He said more seriously. "You are the most beautiful Amazon I've ever met and anybody who contests that will have to answer to my fist...with his face."
"I think you've punched enough people today." She snickered. "No, I understand they were not your foremost interest. But those four girls who were in the dinner hall today are another matter. I know for a fact that you told your friends not to hurt them. Why were you interested in them?"
"Two of them have special abilities I can make use of." He said. "The other two are their best friends who will help them acclimate better into our household. It's always easier to settle down somewhere new when you have a familiar face with you. And who to do that better than your own best friends, huh?"
"But which two exactly?" She asked before her eyes narrowed again. "I assume it's the red haired one and the Amazon right? They're the strongest out of each pair you got. The Amazon strongest of all."
"It's actually the other two, the timid ones."
"What? The blue haired little emo girl and the cute little fox."
"Renard actually...but yes. You'll understand of course why I won't tell you what those powers are." He put a finger to his lips. "Familia secret and all. It's not just mine to share."
"I know, I know. After all, you don't know my secret power either." She said.
"Berserk?"
"...how did you know?" She asked dumbfounded.
"Remember Tione and the yellow Ooze incident?" He asked.
Tiona looked back on the latter part of the expedition where she first met Steve. They'd run into a cluster of Ooze monsters in the Deep Floors, amongst them being the yellow ones which were a notorious acid type. One of them had managed to ambush her older sister and began to dissolve the older twin's clothes away while also unintentionally molesting her...in full view of Finn.
Tione had gotten embarrassed, not because Finn had seen her in a state of undress (in all honesty, it would probably be something she'd enjoyed) but because she claimed that the slime was trying to 'take something of hers that she'd saved for the captain'. After that, the red aura of her berserker mode came on and even Steve wasn't needed in that fight as the Amazon completely tore through the Ooze pack.
To Steve, it was quite surprising that all of that had only happened barely a month prior...it already seemed like a lifetime ago.
"So how did you guess my secret power from that then?" She asked.
"I just assumed because you were twins, you'd have the same power." He said. "In my experience, twins tend to have the same magical powers or at least be loosely connected. I was once made witness of a pair of twins who shared a soul."
"A soul?" Her brows raised as her eyes widened.
"Yep. Due to this, both of them lacked real power in mystical arts. The older one decided to turn away from all of that and became the stronger out of the two while the other still continued upon that useless and fruitless path. Of course the circumstances drove a hard wedge between the two of them. The older one managed to reach her potential in the end and become powerful...at a cost though."
"What cost?" Tiona asked, listening intently as she was always ever appreciative of a story.
"The younger sister's death." Steve said grimly. "Away with her went what you could probably call the 'impurities' and the older sister became whole...just in time for a great battle looming over her."
"Did she win?" Tiona asked.
"No idea." Steve said as he thought back to his previous life. "I never found out."
"Huh." Tiona looked out the window as she pursed her lips. "It sounds horrible...I've had problems with Tione in the past before but...I would never want her dead."
In the past few days, the Amazon had come to open up to him about her childhood, amongst a plethora of pillow talk dialogues. But Tiona had poured out her heart to him in that time, and though he did already know about it, having to hear her personal experiences had made his blood boil.
"Neither did that sister." Steve said. "As much animosity as there was between the two, the older sister loved hers deeply, the same way Tione does with you. If anything, she's clearly protective of you given how she outright challenged me. And kept doing it even though I was barely just flicking her away. Your sister is by your side always Tiona...as am I."
It was the strangest thing for him...as the days passed for him, the memories of his past life became fuzzier and fuzzier than was normal. His old personality was starting to fade and his character was taking on another form, one that he'd never made. He wasn't sure how he would put it...but he would say that Stephen Hewer was starting to disappear, leaving behind just Minecraft Steve in its place, that is if Steve had a personality at all in the lore.
"You always have the strangest stories to tell." She said. "Which reminds me. I finished the Hobbit."
"You have?" He said. "Well then, I guess I'll give you the second trilogy."
"Shall I give my thanks in advance then?" She suggested.
"Do you need to ask?" He smiled back at her.
She climbed on top of him as the blanket fell away from her body, priming herself for him as he grabbed her shoulders. He was so big compared to her that when he wrapped his arms around her, her whole body disappeared into his, a feeling she just loved for some reason or another. As they were about to start another session though, she made an obvious pause as something crossed her mind, making him pause too and direct a questioning look at her.
"What?" He asked.
"It's just...I was sure you were going to get rid of the captains of the other two Familia...but they're still alive. I'm pretty sure you said to me that you were going to get rid of them. At the very least, I expected you to get rid of Apollo's captain. He's such a prideful weakling."
"What can I say? He's hard to kill." Steve smirked. "Apollo's been stabbing him for years probably and he's still not dead."
"But Phryne?" Tiona said. "You know she has a bad history with Ais right? Just for that, I was sure you'd kill her."
"That is something I'd like to know myself." Steve said. "I'd been occupied with Ottar, so I left the toad to the others. But believe me, even I want to know why she's still alive."
After all, he could for the life of himself not discern why his commands failed earlier. There was only two possible reasons for the command not working. It was either the person did not exist in that world, which was already a possibility already ruled out because Phryne Jamil had for sure existed. The other reason was much simpler...that the target was already dead.
But the question was...who killed her?
---
(Earlier on...)
Phryne huffed as she carried her pudgy body down the stairs into her secret Dungeon. She and her fellow Amazons had just been subject to some of the most heated verbal diarrhoea from Ishtar in a while. The goddess of prostitutes had been raving over how much shame she'd been put through by the Ptah Familia and Ptah himself during the Denatus.
Even amongst the opposition team, Ishtar felt like the butt of all jokes from the people who were supposed to be her allies. And not only did she not have the next killing-stone yet, but she'd also lost Haruhime who alone was a very valuable asset. Even if the Renard had not brought in any profit as a whore, the benefit she could have provided her adventurers with her level boost was invaluable. And Ishtar had lost it on an anger fuelled impulsive gamble.
The thing that no one could scratch their head around was...how? Why were the Ptah Familia so intent on acquiring Haruhime, going as far as to have its vice-captain ambush her Familia while returning home and order that they give up Aisha and Haruhime to them. Why would anybody put such interest into a level one brick-headed Renard who fainted at seeing more than just a man's face and hands?
The only reason could have been because they'd known something about Haruhime, or at the very least suspected something about her. But how? Ishtar had never put the girl at the forefront of anything, opting to have her work in the brothels instead of the Dungeon. Ishtar was aware of some people potentially still looking for her. After all, Haruhime was former nobility, disgraced perhaps, but nobility regardless. If not her old friends, then at least some opportunists or bounty hunters would be after the girl, though the possibilities of them coming this far West was absurd.
Even more absurd was that the now strongest Familia in existence and in all history had wanted her so keenly.
None of it mattered to Phryne though, for she had her own problems to deal with. Beginning with that Alex woman first thing. Phryne believed there was no woman she hated more than the Sword Princess, but that position was quickly taken by the fiery haired brawler and vice-captain of the Ptah Familia. Not only was Alex so radiantly beautiful that she could stun men into silence for a few moments with her beauty alone, but she had purposefully insulted Phryne's own looks so much and beat her about the face that it had hit several nerves deep in the toad woman.
However, this time she could not plot so easily against her as she did against the Sword Princess. And Phryne still hadn't had the chance to execute her plan against that girl...not that she was brave enough to now. Ais Wallenstein was now a lover to Stephen Hewer...who had vaporized Phryne with a punch without even bothering to look at her. She was so insignificant to him that he hadn't even acknowledged her before just instantly killing her on the spot.
For the first time in her life, her knees began shaking at the thought of facing him again in any capacity. She thought Alex had been an impossible fight...she'd had no idea. Hurting the Sword Princess was definitely one way to draw his ire and Phryne would have liked to be at least the same level as him before considering angering him. She was stuck between a rock and hard place and it was causing her a stress all of its own.
One which she was now on the way to release in her dungeon. The place where she released her sadistic urges and gained torturous pleasure. There was nothing she loved more than making men, especially young boys, scream and shout as she had their way with them. It was just a pity that none of them could last very long with her, because they always expired before long.
Well hopefully the one she had locked down there at the moment wouldn't be such a waste of her time, considering they were an adventurer. Usually she was not allowed to just go and capture other adventurers from infamous Familia to have fun with, but she was so pissed off with her loss today that she couldn't care less about what rules were placed on her and what she couldn't do. After the stress of today, she needed an outlet, and an adventurer who would last longer than normal men would do just fine.
This particular one had been wandering far too close to their Familia home, so much so that it could very well be considered trespassing. Perhaps he'd made an appointment with one of the other members of her Familia; but even if he had, it didn't matter. She was captain and if she wanted something, she would get it.
She threw open her door to her underground room where she kept her victims waiting to find two of her Amazon 'sisters' clasping the prisoner in manacles. She'd ordered that extra insurance there in case he broke free. You couldn't be too sure about normal manacles around an adventurer after all. The man in question was dark skinned with puffy hair that almost stretched out into an afro, dressed in an outfit which looked more like a green rag with a loophole that was swung over his left shoulder. His eyes were dark grey and there was an expression of severe distress on his face couple with one of disgust as he took in her appearance.
"Now then..." She began as she approached him with what was supposed to be a sway of her hips but to the others, it looked more like a balloon poofing out of one side of her body before disappearing and re-emerging on the other side. The two other Amazons refrained from puking. "...what was your name again? Muffin? Maple? Mongoose?"
"It's Modaka!" He shouted as he tugged at his restraints. "Let me go you crazy bitch!"
"My, you're eager aren't you?" Phryne flicked her mushroom-cut hair. "I can understand. After all, no man can resist my beauty...but let's save the pillow talk for later alright?"
"You're sick!" He spat. "And stupid! Why can't you recognise when someone is not interested you fat ugly toad!"
"Oooh honey~" She drawled as she stretched out her tongue and licked the side of his face, not caring as the other two Amazons stepped way from the victim and moved around behind her. "I'm not into name-calling...it's not my style. But some people I've been with do like it. Men do have weird hidden kinks after all...I wonder what's yours."
"Urgh, your drool actually stinks!" Modaka gagged. "What have you been eating? Dead flies!"
"I thought I told you to stop talking like that!" She hissed as she back-handed him across the face, making his eyes spin and his mind went into a daze and stars appeared in his vision. She then cast a look down at his nether regions. "Hm. It seems you aren't excited enough yet. Not to worry! I have just the thing!"
She reached over to a table which Modaka saw was laiden with all various types of horrific looking tools, some with spikes and others with blades. He saw her pick something small up from it and held it up in front of him. His eyes widened as he saw a small stick of metal with one end inflated into a bud, its shape giving the obvious impression that it was supposed to be inserted somewhere small. The problem was, this bud also had small metal spikes on them.
Those of you who don't recognise this thing, just search up 'sounding'...if you dare.
Modaka certainly knew what this tool was and Phryne's face twisted in glee as his own face adopted a horrified expression.
"What the hell are you doing with that?!"He shouted. "How is that going to help!?"
"Well, since you like so many hurtful words, I thought a bit of painful pleasure would be the perfect thing to get you hard." Phryne then ran her giant tongue over the tool, covering it in her flem. "And if that doesn't work, I have a drug that can do the job nicely, hehehe."
She began to take slow, thundering footsteps towards the terrified man as he writhed about in his shackles when the door suddenly slammed behind them, causing Phryne to whirl around to see one of the Amazons she'd had bring Modaka down with her hand on the door, having clearly been the one to slam it. There was a solemn look on the girl's face as all emotion suddenly looked drained from her.
"The hell are you doing, making that racket?!" Phryne screeched at her before she felt a sharp sting in her left arm and she jumped back. Looking at her affected limb, she saw a dart buried deep into her flabs. Following its trajectory, she saw the other Amazon girl, her face equally as emotionless, standing on the other end of the room with a blowpipe in her mouth. "You littl- AHH!" Phryne squealed again as another dart lodged itself in the back of her fat neck and she looked around to see one of Modaka's hands free from a manacle and another blowpipe in his mouth pointed right at her, while a conniving glint in his eye peeked at her.
Realising what was happening, Phryne decided to move towards him. Caught off guard or not, she was still a level 5 and therefore had high resistance which would give her time before whatever was smeared on the needles would kick in. She decided to go for Modaka first since he was weakest, intending on dealing with the other two afterwards when something in the shadows of the dimly lit room blurred and a dark mass flew past her while slashing at her face.
Phryne yelled as he hands flew to the wound on her face which started to now burn, which was unusual for just a cut. Phryne wasn't stupid when it came to these kind of things; the blade that had just sliced her had also been laced with poison. Through her fingers, she stared into the shadows of the room as they suddenly started to shift more and several cloaked figures began to emerge from the darkness into the light.
She wondered at how she had not picked them up before, even with her adventurer senses. These people looked to be from all different kind of backgrounds, from beast-men, to humans, to elves to Pallums. All of them were dressed in dark cloaks with hoods that covered most of their faces, leaving only their mouths exposed which all bore grim smiles.
"Wh-Wh-What the hell is going on?!!!" Phryne yelled as the figures blocked the doorway. They all faced her and simultaneously opened their mouths.
""For the Glory of the Great One."" They said. ""Master of Haunches and Lord of all he surveys. King over Kings and Greatest of Men. In the name of Stephen Hewer, Prophet of the Hips, you shall be punished in accordance as a sacrifice for his Majesty!""
"Who are you lot?!" Phryne said as she began to grow unsteady on her feet. She reached out for one of the cloaked figures but they all pulled blowpipes out of their cloaks and fired several darts at her. The woozy feeling grew stronger in an instant, almost to the point of overpowering as Phryne was brought to her knees in front of the door, which was her only way of escaping but now had one of her Amazon sisters standing in front of it.
The Amazon, whom she'd known to be a member of the Ishtar Familia for so long now, reached for her current clothing and unclasped the straps. Phryne watched as the other girl completely shed her burdens and stood in the room as bare as the day she was born. The Amazon made direct eye contact with Phryne as one of the cloaked figures approached her.
Upon looking at the approaching one, Phryne realized it was the other Amazon, now coming closer to her sister with a pot of red paint in her hand.
"You have proved yourself." The cloaked Amazon said to the girl as she took out a palm covered in red paint and began to smear it on the girl's hips. "You have risked yourself in the name of the Great One, and have submitted to him in front of his unfathomable power. You have felt his magnificence, and his absolute dominion over all life."
"For who could not?" Modaka said as he climbed down from his place where he'd been manacled on the wall. Normally he would be ogling the naked girl in the room full of desire, but all that mattered little now, now that he had joined the Faith of the Hips and had been witness to the might of the Great One. "Our Lord is master of the King of Monsters, who slumbers in the colosseum of my Familia. Only a being so great as he could control such a beast. Of course she would know nothing better than to submit to his vision." Modaka smiled cruelly as he pulled on a cloak over his head and was passed a Flaming Torch from one of the cult members.
When the Faith had first reached out to him, he had told them of how he had been the one to welcome Stephen Hewer into the city and had given him the pass into the city. The Faith had seen this sign as the ultimate act of righteousness, and had put it down to him that their Lord had entered the city and had graced them with his presence. Due to this, he was promoted right to the position of a Torch, below the position of a Brother, who had been the people to organise this group in the first place. After recognizing Steve's valour and ardour, how could he even think to let his lust over women come before his duty to his Lord's vision?
The naked Amazon had finished getting her hips lathered in red paint before she was handed a mask in the shape of a woman's hips and a cloak was put over her to cover her nakedness. None in this gathering were to ever feel lust when on a sacred mission. They would forego their earthly desires for the happiness of their Lord. That was rule number one amongst them.
"Hark!" One of the cult member by the door snapped suddenly. "The First Brother draws near..."
Every member of the gathering went down on their knees while the newly inducted girl snatched up her whorish clothing and threw it to a side.
The First Brother was the most important and prominent member of the Faith, right beneath the Two Ladies, beneath the Great Ones.
Phryne's vision started to blur as consciousness began to slowly ebb away from her, but she could still hear and see enough.
Footsteps began to sound in the hallway outside of the door, coming from the same direction she'd come from when coming down to this dungeon. She'd had no idea that this same room she'd destroyed so many people in would also be the last place she would ever see. A few seconds after the footsteps sounded, there came a whistling tune, slow and high pitched, with just a couple of musical notes, yet carried an ominous sense of foreboding.
Like a whistle of Death...
The door swung open, revealing a tall hooded figure standing outside. Two protrusions on top of his head made it apparent that he was a beast man, and the grey wolf tail wagging behind him made it clear that he was a werewolf to be precise. A smile shone beneath the hood that completely shadowed the stranger's face. And as he approached the toad, still whistling that awful tune, two khopesh opened up beside him...
The dungeon was filled with Phryne's screams for the next couple of hours...
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