Chapter 249: Chapter 247

Chapter 247

The compromise Gluttony and Riven had come to was that - yes - Riven would feed on something. Anything, really, and given Athela’s incredibly high vitality along with her passive trait that required all three of her forms to die before she was only banished back to the nether realms - it made her an easy target for them to settle on. Even if it didn’t necessarily fit the requirement for ‘mortal blood’ his vampiric side needed, it still satiated Gluttony’s cravings when Riven began draining his lover - and it’d very quickly escalated when Athela had mentally agreed to it on one condition.

She, of course, wanted to make it kinky.

Riven was already in a ravenous state at that point and he’d satisfied both Gluttony and Athela at the same time, having literally thrown Athela into a nearby rental room for privacy during a moment of clarity between urges. After fifteen minutes of very rough and loud sex on a previously semi-clean bed, after having drank what seemed to be gallons of demonic blood, with a lot of hair-pulling from Riven and screaming on Athela’s part; Riven found himself having finished and on top of her while she dug her nails deep into his back.

Blood was everywhere. It was all over his face, her body, and the bed they were on. There were also bite marks all along her neck, arms and torso from where he’d been draining her, but by the way she was shuddering in orgasm she’d very much liked what had happened.

“I didn’t know you were into that kind of stuff…” Riven said, panting, only to get a forceful kiss after she groaned. “But I’m glad you enjoyed it!”

She gave him a ‘Duh’ look.

“Please let’s do that again.” Athela said, huffing herself with deep breaths of air and occasional shudders. “I’m serious. Super cereal.”

Super cereal? Had she been watching Earth-based TV shows on Comedy Central somehow?

He merely chuckled at the reference that he had no idea how she knew, and began spooning her - wrapping an arm over her shoulder and wincing at his own wounds that she’d inflicted on him during the epic battle they’d undertaken. Riven looked around at the mattress drenched in red, and let out a content sigh while watching the wounds on her body fade away - as if his fangs had never even been there.

She put one hand on his, smiling and glancing over her shoulder with raised eyebrows - still breathing deeply to catch her breath. “Fay’s going to be jealous about this one when I tell her.”

“Is that so?”

“Ooooooh definitely. Let’s include her in the next bout.”

“Do you think she’d be able to take that kind of damage though?”

“Uhm… not that much, but to a lesser extent she’d certainly like it. Plus we have some things to show you from our own time experimenting whenever you’re not around you know - we have… a plan!”

“That sounds ominous.”

“Very much so! Damn, I wish she were here and not still banished! She needs to stop dying!”n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

They laughed and Athela snuggled up next to him, turning over and putting her head against his chest with an amused expression. “How much time do we have left until we fight for the town? If the locals don’t attack you first, anyway…”

Riven pulled up the timer. “A little over 8 hours.”

“Hmmm. Want to try again? You’ll have to tell Azmoth that we’re going to be busy. But we NEVER get time to do this because you’re always getting into trouble!” She pounded a fist into his chest with a playful but simultaneously menacing glare. “I want more Riven time! And that picnic was nice, but you never actually took me on a SOLO date like Fay had!”

Riven clicked his tongue, and brushed away some of her black hair to put a hand on her cheek. “You know what? You’re right. How about we go get another drink, have another romp, and then find a good date spot here in town before the monster wave. Surely there’s something here like a good restaurant, or a petting zoo, or something like that. Or we can just go explore together and buy you some new clothes!”

“Like the time we went clothes shopping in Brightsville!?” Athela’s eyes widened in excitement, and she clapped her hands together before cackling mischievously. “That was when I started crushing on you, you know.”

“Oh stop!”

“WHAT!? It was! I told my mom and the rest of my clan about how kind you were when you said I’d look good in that dress… It made me very happy to hear.”

She booped him on the head with a finger. “You’re pretty cute, you know. I’m a lucky girl, and my mom really, REALLY thinks so now that you’re Gluttony’s chosen. They want to worship you, or something. Don’t give me that look, I'm being cereal! Do you know just how many system messages my clan has paid for to expedite communication outside the normal nether realm visits? And they’re all useless messages too! Ones like ‘Athela you a lucky, hot, crazy bitch!’”

“There is zero chance your demonic clan sent that message to you.”

“I swear it on my princess tiara!”

“You’re lying.”

“Nope! That was my mom.”

“Doubtful.”

“Well, ask her when you see her next then!” Athela humphed and snorted, angrily slamming a long pitch-black leg over his own. She tucked it inbetween his knees to pull her body against his. “Now shut up and accept it! And give me more snuggle time before we get another drink; like I said - I don’t get enough!”

***

Fay hadn’t been happy, being blown up in the underdark in a painful and unexpected explosion that’d blasted her back into the nether realms. Deepnests’s detonation wasn’t something she’d seen coming. However upon arrival and after realizing that Riven was, in fact, ok… she’d first-hand witnessed through her connection alongside with the rest of her entire clan what was akin to a miracle.

And not the type of skill, but a genuine miracle in the way one talked about when a one in a five-hundred-trillion chance happened right in front of you.

Gluttony had been reborn, opening the way for all of the other sins and commandments to come out with it. The eternal war was at hand yet again as Elysium let out the trapped beings that’d helped create existence before the multiverse had even been formed. The ancient armies of the hells were gathering their strength as excited waves of religious fervor crashed across the underbelly of existence, and the great maw responsible for it all had chosen Fay’s own boyfriend as its vessel. The zeal once known across the great demonic factions that’d made them so feared once upon a time was now at hand within hours, and her clan was immediately bombarded with requests for audiences from factions so far above their own that her mother Saemi had called for a complete lockdown of their nether realm. She’d immediately banned any and all foreign entities from entering their home, fearing for their safety in a communal nether realm such as this, and had recalled all free-floating succubi and incubi belonging to the Sajovi Clan minutes later.

First came shock, then came awe, and then an emotion Fay really couldn’t place that washed over her like a flood as she sobbed and cried with tears that weren’t necessarily happy, nor sad - but nevertheless came. Inside their castles, ziggurats and stone dwellings in the jungle existence the Sojavi Clan had created for themselves in this small pocket reality, the low to mid-tier information broker faction was already receiving bribes and threats for entry from other demonic forces that far surpassed their own power. Entities eons old with world-ending strength that would have never given the Sojavi Clan the time of day before, were now competing with one another for HER attention and leverage with her family. That, or they had more sinister intentions for one reason or another.

Messages sent from Athela’s own family painted a similar picture on their end, and they’d already had to kill a forced invasion of their nether realm when one of their own had accidentally let in a parasitic ripclaw that’d opened up their home to unwanted guests. Thankfully Athela’s own clan was far more attuned to violence than Fay’s was, so they’d rather easily massacred the interlopers while offering the Sojavi Clan assistance if need ever arose.

Most notably, the Church of Gluttony specifically had called upon her - by name - to make an appearance before them. The churches of sin were what most of her kind had considered fanatics up until now, attempting to piece together the long lost shards of the sins tiny fragment by tiny fragment over a never-ending expanse of multiverse that would have taken untold billions of years to complete. And yet those harbingers who’d been touched by Gluttony now found themselves without their divine fragments, stripped of the opportunity to ascend with the great maw when it’d chosen another, and she simply didn’t know what to do. Was going to greet them wise? Would it be considered an offense if she didn’t go? Or was it some jealous and enraged follower or group of followers who’d taken it upon themselves to strike her down for her master stealing their opportunity - as a way of petty revenge?

It was too early to tell.

“Fay!” Saemi, her beautiful mother called out to her with a frustrated and simultaneously exhausted scowl. Her shoulders were slumped, and she’d just finished barking orders at some of the other blue-skinned clan members concerning protocols on outside communication networks which had been compromised. “Fay, I realize this is a lot to take in - but you need to get ahold of yourself. It would be a bad look for us if other demon clans knew that one of Riven’s - and thereby Gluttony’s - bonded familiars and concubines was sobbing on our library floor in the arms of her sister! We need to maintain face!”

Tupper, who’d briefly left the elf child Len in the care of Gurth’Rok back on Panu, glaring in conjunction with his sister Nitidi while Nitidi held the sobbing fay next to a couch between enormous bookshelves reaching far above.

“Mother-” Tupper began, but he was cut off with a sharp return glare from Saemi.

“Don’t even start, you’re already on thin ice with your father and the rest of the clan.” Saemi stated, rubbing her temple and waving off another group of incubi and succubi - letting her body fall into the ornate chair behind her. “The only reason you’re even being allowed back without issue is because you’re also on good terms with Gluttony’s Reincarnation. You’re still both my children and you will do as I say.”

Nitidi was taller and slightly bigger than Fay, and she got up from the floor - unfolding her wings - and helped Fay up to her feet while the shorter woman sniffled and shook uncontrollably. “There’s no reason to be this upset hun! This is a good thing! An amazing thing - even! Why are you crying?”

Fay blubbered something unintelligible.

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Saemi sighed while her two daughters and son took seats across from her. Then her face lit up with a wide but tired grin. “She’s likely in a state of shock. Not that I necessarily blame her… The chances of this happening are nearing the margin of impossibility. To think that Elysium would let them out… and that my daughter would be so close to the reincarnation! This goes far, far beyond being a prince of the Blood Moon Requiem. This is the difference between royalty and… and I don’t even know what. I cannot think of anything that would so equally compare! To say that I am pleased is an incredible understatement, but I am still trying to wrap my own head around what this will mean for us going forward as a clan and family.”

“Do you intend to let anyone inside to talk?” Nitidi asked, frowning in worry while keeping Fay’s head buried in her side on the sofa. “We’re being requested by-”

“Do not think I don’t know who and how many are requesting audiences with us!” Saemi snapped irritably, groaning, and leaning forward to put her hands on her forehead with fingers massaging her temple. She closed her eyes and let out a deep, slow, shuddering breath. “Aside from Clan Razok, there is only one other I will allow access to this place. At least for now, until we are certain of who is truly on our side and who is trying to set up a power grab. Or worse.”

There was an extended silence after that, all four of them staring into the ground amidst Fay’s continued whimpers.

“Stop your sniveling, Fay. I love you, but stop it.” Saemi snapped eventually, but then regretted it immediately when she saw the hurt look in her daughter’s eyes. “Eh… Sorry. I’m just on edge, I apologize. I should be thanking you for raising our clan’s name, rather than lecturing you.”

Tupper cleared his throat and clasped his hands in front of him. “Clan Razok, being Athela’s Clan?”

“Yes.”

“Then who is the other?”

Saemi’s black eyes slowly raised off the ground. “Lillith, of course.”

Another long, drawn out silence overtook them.

Tupper gulped, and he had to wipe his sweaty hands on his sides. “You don’t think she’ll come here do you?”

“Why else would she request to do so, if she had no intent?” Saemi asked a little shakily. “Of course she intends to come, and I will not deny her.”

Nitidi hesitated. “You don’t think she’ll be a problem… do you?”

Saemi shook her head. “No… No I don’t. If anything, she’ll be a deterrent. Even at… what level is she now since arriving on Panu?”

Nitidi pulled up a screen and scoffed in disbelief. “Level 39. Didn’t she just arrive on Panu less than a day ago at level 1? How is that even possible?”

Saemi grinned, then laughed out loud while shaking her head and flopping back into her chair. “It’s possible because she’s a MYTHIC tier creature. She’s an absolute monster, a literal figure of legends passed down through the eons, and she’s killed hundreds of beasts and enemies above her combat level on her path through the underdark towards Allie’s location. Things will slow down when she hits the E-grade again, when it’s less about numbers of kills and more about quality and insight, but even then I’m sure her growth will be explosive. She and the others that were banished to the abyss, like the other generals and officers of Gluttony’s legions, were some of the brightest minds of their time. All of their levels have been reset, along with many of their skills, and much of their knowledge was wiped - but what they do remember in conjunction with the system titles, attributes, and everything else means they’re all walking calamities. I’d be surprised if Elysium doesn’t entirely change the world quests of their integration to incorporate it somehow. Or if it doesn’t do that, it’ll balance out their appearance some other way - as Elysium doesn’t like things to be so lopsided as this.”

“Well, if she’s on her way down to find Allie in the underdark… Why would she request an audience with us now?”

“Because it won’t take her long to find the newly ascended angel of death. That’s why. I’m sure it’ll only be another day before they meet, and Lillith is trying to play damage control for her lord on Panu while Riven is swept up in system events for the Challgathi quests. The Blood Moon Requiem is full of devout followers of The Blood God, Riven even has a thrall who is one of their esteemed priestesses, and Lillith just eradicated the ritual meant to strip Allie’s soul of Malignant Prophecy from the highest ranking members of the vampiric empire. Lilith has to simultaneously try not to anger The Blood Moon Requiem because she knows that even if she can defeat their thrall forms on a newly integrating planet, even she would be crushed if they were to find her or her master in the realms of the multiverse given their current rank disparity. Meanwhile she also doesn’t want to anger a potential ally, and despite Gluttony not being in any way subservient to The Blood God, Riven himself has not dismissed the priestess and even had her embrace the position. This complicates things. So does the involvement of the reapers, and The Scythe. Lilith will have to play a very political game here, maintaining Allie’s safety from the blood suckers while trying to make sure she doesn’t fall too far under the influence of of the reapers. At least, this is what I am guessing to be the case, as they’ll likely use Allie’s quest to conquer Panu and maintain a safe haven for themselves while Gluttony’s core forces rebuild.”

Tupper nodded in agreement. “Makes sense. What about the Church of Gluttony? Have they made contact with Lillith? Or are they even able to do so?”

Saemi shrugged in almost a defeated manner. “We are not sure. It may be why the Church of Gluttony is attempting to contact us in the first place, they may be trying to use us to speak with Lillith or Gluttony itself. Fay, how long do you have before you head back to be with Riven?”

Fay, who’d calmed down and was shakily wiping her eyes, quickly went over her status screen. “A little over 17 hours.”

A knock at the door came, and the four of them turned their heads to see one of the lower-ranking clan members give a swift bow. The succubus was obviously nervous at being there, and specifically tried not to stare in admiration at Fay - given Fay’s new standing as one of two romantic interests the Reincarnation of Gluttony had. “Lady Saemi! Nitidi! Tupper!”

She hesitantly glanced at Fay, not sure how to address her now with the new dynamic changes of the clan. “Uhm… Lady Fay! I am sorry to interrupt all of you, but some of our guests from Clan Razok have arrived.”

The four of them abruptly stood, and Saemi summoned two more large couches when dark figures shifted into the nether realm around them from shadows on the floor.

Clan Razok was entirely full of arachnid variant demons, of which it had a good number of different types - but they were all related to spiders in some form or another.

Athela’s mother, Vorindi, was strangely beautiful in a very sinister way. It was very close to how Athela looked - only slightly more menacing in her humanoid form. She had three pairs of mandibles coming out of the sides of her throat along a slit that likely opened up into an additional mouth, had smaller red markings across her otherwise pitch black and patchy white skin, and had four red eyes instead of two. Otherwise the athletic outline and the six blade-like arachnoid legs sticking out of her back were the same. Vorindi was also accompanied by four others: two very high-level enforcers that took the form of enormous, red, spined spiders which shifted in and out of existence; sometimes even in multiple spots at once using the same body. The other and last of their clan was the Clan Razok patriarch, a male dryder of dark gray skin - having the upper body of a very handsome drow man and the lower body of a large black widow.

Vorindi looked to the patriarch amidst the awkward silence, and the patriarch nodded to Athela’s mother to give her the stage with the clicking of mandibles.

Vorindi then took a step forward, with the lower ranking succubus leaving the private area of the library, and shut the door behind her on the way out.

“Saemi of the Sojavi Clan, Fay of the Sojavi Clan. We of Clan Razok greet you.” Vorindi bowed low in a customary manner to both Saemi and Fay - no doubt taking the lead and being granted the first chance to speak here by their patriarch due to her abruptly heightened standing; considering she was Athela’s mother, and Athela was the other one of two love interests concerning Gluttony’s Reincarnation.

Fay was surprised by the immense respect shown her by the direct address of a demoness far above her own stature, still not used to the idea of what her position as a girlfriend - or in her mother’s words, ‘Concubine’ - of Gluttony’s Reincarnation really meant. She in turn bowed low while matching her mother’s own bow, but let her mother do the talking.

“We greet Clan Razok as friends, and hope you find yourselves comfortable within the nether realm we have built for ourselves.” Saemi finished her own bow and smiled warmly. “It is good to finally meet you in person, Vorindi. I hope the incursion into your home was met with brutal and swift death.”

The arshakai shook her head with a sly smile of her own, following Saemi’s gesture and sitting along the couch while the three others of her clan remained in the back for now. “The incursion was swiftly dealt with, indeed. Invading a nest of assassins wasn’t the brightest idea those firebrands had, but they were also extremists from the Church of Wrath; so it wasn’t entirely surprising. And the pleasure is surely mine. Do we know when Lillith will be arriving?”

The others in the room shifted nervously as they thought about it, and Saemi retook her seat - motioning for the others to do the same while shaking her head. “Unfortunately I am not sure. I believe she will be here within the day, but that is just a guess and I am entirely unsure as to an exact time. Would you like refreshments meanwhile? I’ve been wanting to discuss our shared daughter’s man long before he became such a prominent figure, you know how it is with us old gossipers!”

“Mother!” Fay hissed under her breath, to the amusement of her sister Nitidi and her brother Tupper.

To Saemi’s relief, Athela’s mother Vorindi only paused for a moment to consider her words before chuckling good naturedly.

“Indeed you’re right.” Vorindi stated, amused - clicking her mandibles thoughtfully while putting a finger up to her chin. “I’m glad our daughters worked out their differences the way they did, and it pleases me that they found such a unique summoner. As you said yourself, I’ve been rather curious about the opposite perspective even before Riven became the reincarnation of the great maw… I would have no qualms with sharing in some gossip while we await Lillith’s arrival. So let us speak on it!”

***

Outside the pub and on the streets of Outpost #84, Gragle the scarred gnome had been more than happy to get the hell out of there and away from the vampire who was a self proclaimed vampire prince of the Blood Moon Requiem. What was worse was that he’d claimed to be the host of Gluttony, a universe-ending entity that many demons literally worshiped.

If not for the presence of the blood priestess, if not for the ancient unfamiliar tattoos on Riven’s body that gave off extremely potent negative energy, Gragle may have just blown them off. But when they were both present, and having been accompanied by a very recent multiverse-wide announcement about Gluttony’s return, Gragle could only pray that the vampire was just playing some kind of sick joke on him.

Because even as immensely unlikely as it was that the vampire was telling the truth, even as preposterous as the idea was, if Riven was the real deal… Gragle and everyone here were in very real danger. That was even putting aside the fact that a blood priestess was here that would no doubt sacrifice him for bonus points to their god given a chance.

So he’d taken up the offer to lead Azmoth and Nora around town when they’d asked to leave, none of them wanting to listen to the two extremely loud lovebirds in the other room. This was even despite the fact that Azmoth himself was incredibly scary to the gnome, and the reputation of Hellscape Brutalisks was not one to be scoffed at.

Though after Azmoth had paid the barkeeper three times what he’d been given earlier as an apology for Riven’s actions, the large demon had - oddly enough - very politely taken his leave and followed Gragle out to explore the town.

“What’s that?” Nora asked, ignoring the swarms of panicking people who were actively constructing barricades along doors, windows or streets in anticipation of a monster wave possibly clearing the stone walls surrounding Outpost #84.

Gragle’s head swiveled, ignoring the looks he was getting parading around a huge demon as well as a woman with an odd hood very likely related to the integration questline they’d all been flung into. “That? The thing with pipes coming out of the ground? It’s a well.”

“For water?”

“Yes, we use magic to pump water out of it and into the four basins surrounding it. We just keep the basins covered to stop air pollution or soot from getting in, something that may not be needed as much now that we’re not actually on Mesini anymore…”

“Mesini being… what?”

“The planet we were abducted from for this stupid event.”

“YOU THERE!” A husky voice bellowed out over the crowds, and to Gragle’s immense relief - a squadron of armed guards in leather armor wielding spears pushed through the crowds to stand in front of the gnome’s two companions.

It appeared that either Azmoth had drawn their attention, people escaping from the pub had alerted the authorities, or both had happened.

Though Gragle had to admit, the feeling of relief and safety quickly vanished when reality set in. These guards wouldn't stand a chance against a hellscape brutalisk, there was almost literally a 0% chance of success in a fight, but at least if a fight did happen - it’d give Gragle a chance to escape during the carnage that followed.

The guards seemed to be very aware of this too, but their eyes kept flitting towards Nora’s hood that identified her as a system quest participant and a Chalgathi Non-Cultist.

“Ahem, sorry to bother you - but we have some questions that need to be answered.” The forefront man stated, likely a guard captain, while nervously eyeing Azmoth up and down. He turned his gaze on Nora. “Is this your summon?”

“You betchya.” Nora lied.

The captain accepted it readily, not willing to dig further into the matter as Azmoth hadn’t started killing everyone on sight. For him, the equivalent would be like an average Earthling watching hungry tigers parading down a pre-school cafeteria while not eating all the inhabitants.

“I’ve been told by the warden of this town to fetch you, along with the blood priestess we heard about, after reports from a nearby pub suggested you’d know more about what is going on here.” The captain stated - regaining a bit of his resolve in the process. “Where is this Priestess of the Blood God, if you don't mind me asking? Is she still at the pub? And if it’s ok, could you and your familiar accompany my men and I to talk to the warden? We don’t have long before the monster wave of this system event hits, and we need to know all the details you can give us if we’re to prepare for the worst.”