บท 558: 68
After the War Chapter 16
Even the idea of willingly becoming a monster would have been beyond ludicrous for her past self. Lakyus nervously shifted around as she stood and waited for her Goddess to arrive.
Dressed just in an enchanted bodysuit, she had made all the preparations. At least all the ones she could think of. No amount of meditation took away the nervousness and she was not about to get drunk before the ritual.
Yesterday, she and Ankoro went through all the options but Lakyus knew the best way to honor her Goddess. She would become a werewolf.
'I can do it. As Lady Ankoro said, one bite and it would be over. I would not lose myself and should be back to my old self after the initial shock.' Lakyus glanced around the living room.
The rest of the blue roses were sitting around the living room of the team's quarters. Tia, Tina, and Keno had accepted her decision. Gagaran, on the other hand, told her that she didn't need to become a monster.
The last one present was Rigrit, who, upon hearing about what Lakyus had agreed to, wanted to be present just in case.
Finally, Ankoro arrived, looking just as nervous as Lakyus. "Good morning everyone. Lakyus, are you sure you are ready? I don't want you to think you must do this because of me."
"I am ready, mistress. I must grow and change to carry out your will." Lakyus said, trying to sound determined.
"Is this ritual safe?" Rigrit asked. "The girl may be eager, but I understand you are performing a race change and I have not seen one in action."
"It should be. Tabula assured me that I can spread the curse of lycanthropy without receivers losing much of their original personality. The first days will be strange but I'm sure we can guide Lakyus through it." Ankoro explained.
"I am ready, mistress." Lakyus repeated and tilted her head to the right for better access to her neck.
'I can do it. Just a bite.' Ankoro approached her Apostle. 'She smells so good~. No! Now is not the time for those thoughts.' Ankoro swallowed and leaned in closer.
For the curse to work, she had to at least partly activate her full form. It would not be much of a problem, that is if she didn't have difficulty controlling her emotions when in a berserk state. She grabbed Lakyus by the back of her head and grew a full head taller.
Her Apostle nervously gulped at her Goddesses exposed jaw, which looked far more monstrous than mere moments before and closed her eyes.
'Just a bite. Be calm. Wait! I need to lessen the pain. How could I forget.' Ankoro gently licked the girl's neck, leaving a thick layer of her saliva behind which would act as an anesthetic.
Lakyus sharply exhaled and grabbed Ankoro's shoulders with both hands.
'Now the bite. Maybe another lick and then… Concentrate dammit.' Her thoughts became increasingly obscene. 'Stop it! Now is not the time.' She scolded her own thought process.
Finally winning the battle against her desires, Ankoro sank her teeth into Lakyus' neck. The girl gasped and started to twitch. Her white teeth rapidly sharpened as every inch of her skin got covered with a thin layer of blonde fur.
Lakyus grew in height, now easily rivaling her mistress and her human face turned into that of the wolf. Ankoro pulled away to let the bite mark heal.
Meanwhile, Lakyus snarled at her mistress and let out a howl, swiping at her face. Ankoro took the hit to the head knowing that she would not get hurt and grabbed the newly turned werewolf's arms to hold her in place.
That proved not enough as Lakyus raged more and more trying to pull away and attempting to bite Ankoro.
"What is happening to her?!" Gagaran shouted.
"She needs to overcome her rage and remember who she is! The wolf side is dominating at the moment." Ankoro shouted back while trying to avoid getting bitten. There was a small chance that enraged Lakyus could overcome all her defenses and do some minor damage.
"Lakyus! Remember who you are. Do not let the beast control you!" Ankoro spoke with as much authority as she could.
"It's not helping! Rigrit, what should we do?" Gagaran got more and more agitated.
"Let her do her work. I am not a werewolf. Ankoro knows what to do." Rigrit responded and then asked Ankoro. "You do have the antidote if she is not manageable?"
"Yes, I have a few vials. If she doesn't calm down I will administer it and turn her back to human." Ankoro finally decided to restrain Lakuys fully and pushed her to the ground. She quickly sat on her stomach and held her apostle's paws down.
"Lakyus, remember who you are." Ankoro said once more, getting a snarl in return.
'She needs to see that turning into a human is possible.' Even though Tabula had taught her how to use the universal shapeshift ability, Ankoro had not tried changing her appearance, seeing any reason to look human until now.
"Look at me!" Ankoro said louder. "Remember your human side. Give it control." To prove her point she activated shapeshift and turned into the woman she was before her death.
"Like this!" Ankoro repeated more softly.
"Mistress!?" Lakyus let out a mix between whine and growl reacting to Ankoro's unfamiliar appearance.
"Now, concentrate on your human side. Take a deep breath. You can do it. I believe in you." Ankoro spoke in a soft voice with a reassuring smile.
Following the command, Lakyus closed her eyes as her breathing became calmer. A few breaths later she slowly returned to her human look.
"Mistress, did it work?" Lakyus asked quietly, not opening her eyes.
"You are back to human form. How do you feel?" Ankoro asked.
"Angry, anxious, nauseous and above all, very, very hungry." Lakyus spoke while breathing slowly. The simple meditation technique worked like a charm.
"That's normal. You'll learn to keep that side of you at bay and have control when in beast form." Although she hadn't experienced being turned herself, what her Apostle sounded exactly like she felt when in berserk form.
"I will. I promise." Lakyus opened her eyes and grew conscious of her and Ankoro's position.
"Mistress?" She nudged her head towards the observers.
Ankoro blinked in confusion but almost instantly understood what Lakuys was trying to tell. She shot up as a bullet and stepped aside as Lakuys stood and absentmindedly touched her neck. "It's healed..." She mumbled.
"So who is up for a feast? We need to celebrate successful transformation." Ankoro said cheerfully.
"I could eat a whole cow… raw." Lakyus said with drool escaping her mouth.
"Let's stick to cooked meals for now." Keno said. "I don't think Lakuys should eat raw meat."
"You are not allowed to eat raw meat as it will only make things worse. You will have to rest for the next few days to regain a sense of normalcy." Ankoro addressed Lakyus agreeing with Keno.
"How would you know?" Lakyus glared at Keno. 'I would kill for a big, juicy, bloody piece of meat right now!'
"If you have forgotten, I am a vampire and don't drink blood every morning for exactly the same reason." Keno said, glaring back. "Don't be stupid and listen to Lady Ankoro!"
"You are right, I'm sorry. Still, I would like something to eat."
"Already taken care off." Ankoro said in a chipper voice and walked over to the dinner table. About a minute later a crew of maids arrived and packed the table to the brim with food, most of which was either meat or sweets.
For someone who was used to acting like a noble and eating with grace, Lakyus hoped her friends would not use her current behavior as a weapon to tease her.
Any sort of table manners flew out the window the second she smelled a roasted lamb. It's when you have experienced how it feels to have mighty jaws do you realize how limiting a human mouth is.
If not for a fear of losing control she would have transformed once again. Despite her mistress holding her down like a small puppy she could recall the sheer power behind her blows.
'I need to get a handle on my new form. I want to see if I can go toe to toe with Clementine or maybe even Neia. No… I am getting a tad overconfident. Neia is likely still on another level.' Lakyus thought as she broke the lamb bones between her teeth with a crunch.
In a sense, it was similar to when she had to handle the Kilineiram, but this time the darkness within was real and had changed her mind in subtle ways.
Only when her stomach made an ultimatum for her to stop eating or it would burst, did Lakuys finally stop and lean back from the pile of empty plates. She let out a long satisfied sigh, followed by a very unladylike burp and immediately got red in the face.
Ankoro seemed to be amused by her antics and snickered while hiding her face.
"I apologize for my behavior, I'm not myself at the moment." Lakyus tried to explain herself, but her apology was overshadowed by Gagaran howling with laughter.
"Stop laughing!" Lakyus shouted, holding the edge of the table.
"I'm sorry but you acting like this… I can't…" Gagaran continued to laugh.
"Stop laughing at me!" She raised her voice even more and added a low animalistic growl. The table cracked under her grip.
"Do not taunt her!" Keno came to her defense as well.
Even after Gagaran apologized, Lakyus continued to glare at her. 'I should wipe that smirk off her face! She… I need to calm down! This is not me!' "I… I need fresh air." Lakyus blurted out and left the room in a hurry.
'I can't lose myself! I can control my animal side!' She ran towards the courtyard. The place where her new path started seemed the best place to be at the moment.
Even with all the people around, the stone she liked to sit on was in a somewhat secluded area. The warm summer air was too hot for her liking and the direct sun rays didn't help either.
Lakyus got under the nearest tree and just sat down on the grass not caring about dirtying her outfit. 'My past self would look at me as some sort of unrefined weirdo if she saw me like this.' She mused, realizing that her only clothes were the bodysuit.
"I thought you might want to put this on." Ankoro's voice soon interrupted her solitude. Lakyus looked up to face her mistress who was handing her a tunic.
"Thank you. I'm sorry for my behavior." She said apologetically.
"It's fine. Your mind is in turmoil. I'll leave you be. But please call for me if you feel yourself transforming." Ankoro said as she turned around to leave.
"Mistress!"
"Yes?"
"Could you stay with me for a moment?"
Ankoro nodded and sat down on the ground beside Lakyus. After a moment of silence, her Apostle spoke up. "Lady Ankoro. This is the first time I have seen you as a human. How can you be in your wolf form all the time and be so… I guess, human."
"Wolf is my default form. This is just shapeshifting. I have been in the berserk form only a few times and it's just as hard for me as it is for you." Ankoro explained. "I took a human form to give you something to latch on to. I thought if you saw me as a human you would find your human side too."
"Is this how you looked on Earth?" Lakyus asked. Her mistress had explained that players were trapped in human bodies on Earth and that's why most chose to keep that look and not return to their heteromorph selves right away.
"Yes, this was me at some point." Ankoro said.
"You are just as cute as I imagined you would be as a human." Lakyus said absentmindedly.
"Y-you imagined me as a human?" Ankoro stuttered, blushing.
Lakyus froze up in panic. 'Oh Gods, I said it out loud! Mistress will take it the wrong way. I mean she is cute and… what I am even thinking. Why are all my deepest thoughts just pouring out of me?' "S-Sorry… I…"
"It's fine. I know you have difficulties controlling what you say right now… I like you too." Ankoro mumbled. 'I can't use her confusion to make a move. That would be wrong on so many levels.'
"Thank you for being so understanding, Lady Ankoro." Lakyus said with a long sigh and a yawn. The tiredness finally was catching up with her.
'Lady Ankoro likes me too. Maybe I could confess to her once again some other day.' The thought was exciting but nothing at this moment could stop her desire to sleep.
It didn't take long for her to doze off and slump against her Goddess's shoulder. Ankoro gently wrapped her arm around Lakyus and closed her eyes as well. There was no need to worry about anything happening. Her invisible guards would make sure that they are not disturbed.
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