Swordsman of the Rift

by Brandon Varnell

  At those words, I realized what she meant. “You have no horns or wings, and your tail is smaller than every other succubus I’ve met. Is that it? Are those things significant somehow?”

  “They are very significant.” Adina nodded. She hugged herself and frowned. I couldn’t help but notice the way this caused her breasts to push together. Her nipples were poking from the fabrics. “When a succubus increases her level, she gains a more demonic appearance. Wings, tails, horns, and the like. You can generally tell a high level succubus from how many of these extra appendages they have. Once a succubus has all three, she is considered a high-class succubus. After that, her appearance stops gaining more demonic traits, but her allure increases.”

  “I see. So Maliperum and that woman I fought with my comrades were both high-class succubus,” I said, nodding. However, the meaning of her words were now clear to me. “You are a low-class succubus, then?”

  “Not just a low-class succubus.” Adina shook her head. “I am the lowest of the low, the bottom of the barrel, as it were. My powers are next to non-existent right now. I’d like to raise my level, but none of the other succubi are willing to give me that chance. They block me at every turn. It’s really frustrating. I hate it, and the one who is to blame for this is Naamah and Maliperum.”

  Adina bit her lower lip in frustration, and I spotted the sharp canines that were her teeth. They were sharper than a human’s canines. I was reminded of those vampires you see in movies. However, there was something intensely more erotic about this woman than any vampire. Truth be told, if circumstances were different, I wouldn’t mind letting her bite me.

  “Why would she try to stop you from getting more power?” I asked.

  “I’d… really rather not say,” Adina admitted.

  “That’s… fine. I guess you don’t have to tell me,” I said. Her reasons didn’t matter. I could tell she hated Maliperum and wanted to kill her, so I’d trust her without knowing her motivation for now. “If you’re willing to work with us, then welcome aboard.”

  “It’s good to be working with you,” Adina said. The words and her smile made her seem strangely human.

  “So now that she’s willing to work with us, why don’t you tell us how you plan on dealing with Maliperum?” suggested Michelle, the folds of her toga shifting as she crossed her arms. “I’m sure you’ve thought of a way to deal with her.”

  “I do have a plan,” I said with a smile before informing them of the plan I’d concocted to get rid of Maliperum.

  I cried out in pain as a whip slashed open my skin. Gritting my teeth, I struggled to keep my consciousness as blood ran down my torso. This made the fifth lashing I’d received today. However, Maliperum’s torture session had just started.

  But with some luck and good timing, it would end soon though.

  “You really are stubborn,” Maliperum said with a saucy smile. She caressed the whip in her hand like it was a lover. “I’ve never met someone as stubborn as you. Did you know we succubus are often used to torture information out of the human males who die and get sent to Hell? You could say it’s our specialty. It’s really quite admirable that you can resist me for so long. Admirable, but also frustrating, not to mention futile. Why not just tell me what I want to know? All this will end if you give me the information my master seeks.”

  For just a moment, I considered giving the information to her, if only because I knew she was going to die soon anyway. Her torture sessions were painful. No matter how trained I was in withstanding repeated torture, it didn’t make resisting the actual thing any different. It hurt. I wanted it to stop. If giving this soon-to-be-dead bitch the information she wanted would make her stop, then it was something to consider.

  And after a second of considering it, I shook my head and smiled.

  “Do you really think I’d tell a cunt basket like you anything?” I asked. “Go fuck yourself.”

  Maliperum’s face became set in a stern frown, but the smile soon returned. However, it was not kind or attractive, but malicious and vile.

  “I’m going to enjoy our latest session together,” she said, cracking her whip.

  “Don’t you always?” I asked. I would have shrugged, but my hands were kind of tied with chains. Even if this body of mine was a level 52 Magic Swordsman, it seemed I wasn’t strong enough to break out of them.

  “True, but I’m going to enjoy this one even more.”

  The woman took a step forward and raised her arm, and I felt a shiver crawl down my spine. Nothing seemed different from how she usually acted. However, for some reason, I could tell she was going to make this session hurt even more than usual. Call it a hunch. Call it psychic powers. Call it whatever the fuck you wanted. I knew this bitch was about to get serious.

  Just before she could begin whipping me, the door to the room slammed open and Adina rushed in.

  “Maliperum! It’s bad! That angel has escaped and his wreaking havoc!”

  “What?!” Maliperum screeched as she whirled around, her eyes wide. “That’s impossible! She’s under a Geass!”

  Adina shook her head. “She’s killing the imps.”

  “Damn it!” Maliperum swore. Her lips were pulled back into a snarl. “And you? Why haven’t you done anything to stop her?”

  “I-I would, but I don’t have the strength to,” Adina stuttered, eyes wide. “I’m just a low-class succubus…”

  Maliperum sneered at those words. “Fucking useless trash… just like your mother.”

  Adina flinched, but I could see the anger shimmering behind her eyes. As Maliperum stormed past her, Adina subtly reached out and unhooked a key hanging from her pants. The move was so smooth it would have put even a professional pickpocket to shame. Maliperum didn’t even notice the key was gone as she continued on. I was impressed despite myself.

  The door soon closed behind Maliperum. I could hear her angry stops growing softer and softer, until they disappeared altogether. Once her footsteps vanished entirely, Adina ran up to me and unlocked the cuffs around my wrists.

  Perhaps it was because I had been dangling from these chains for so long, but my legs wobbled when I landed on the ground, and I fell forward—right into Adina. The succubus caught me. I felt slender arms wrap around my waist and pull me close. My head rested on her breasts, which allowed me to breath in her scent. Adina smelled kind of like spearmint.

  “Are you okay?” Adina’s hot breath washed across my ear, and I took a deep breath to push aside my own arousal and move out of her grip. My legs shook, but I wasn’t anywhere near as bad off as I had been in my last torture session. Compared to that, this session was downright pleasant.

  “I’m fine.” I reassured her with a smile. “Just a little weak is all.”

  Adina nodded. “In that case, we should hurry up and find your equipment. Maliperum will be confronting Michelle soon. We don’t have much time.”

  We made our way out of the torture room, which I realized was located in a dungeon-like area similar to the prison, but it wasn’t on the same floor. Adina lead me through several hallways. There were a few guards, but they were imps, and Adina killed them quickly. She’d slit their throats with her sharp nails, killing them in less time than it took me to blink.

  I guessed even a low-class succubus was stronger than an imp.

  We eventually reached a wooden door that was locked, but the keys Adina had filched from Maliperum unlocked it. She pushed the door open and walked inside. I followed her.

  The room wasn’t very big. In fact, it was quite small. However, contained within this room was a large chest, which Adina knelt before and unlocked. After opening it, she stepped away and looked at me.

  “Your stuff is in there. Grab it and let’s go.”

  “Right.”

  Inside the chest were my clothes, armor, and weapon. I quickly slid on my pants, pulled my long-sleeved shirt over my head, and stepped into my boots. After that, I tied the belt with my sheathed sword around my waist, attached my grea
ves to my calves, donned my chestplate, and finally, I put on my gauntlets and single shoulder pauldron. After testing everything out to make sure it felt right, I turned around.

  “I’m ready,” I said with a nod.

  “Good. Then let’s hurry,” Adina said.

  I didn’t know where we were going, but Adina seemed to know exactly where Michelle and Maliperum would be, for she lead me through a series of corridors, up several stairs, and then toward a set of doors that she burst through. On the other side of the door was a large room with numerous doors leading into it. Quite a few imp corpses littered the floors.

  In the center of this room were Michelle and Maliperum. Michelle was on her hands and knees, gasping for breath as the symbols on her chest glowed a bright red. Her face was clenched in pain. It looked like what she said about that Geass keeping her under Maliperum’s sway held true.

  When Adina and I burst into the room, Maliperum, who had been staring condescendingly at Michelle, whirled around and stared at us. Her eyes widened as she looked from Adina to me. I thought she was going to ask what we were doing there, but then her eyes narrowed, and I could tell she didn’t need to ask.

  “I see. So you have colluded with the enemy and decided to betray us.” Maliperum hissed. “The apple really doesn’t fall that far from the tree, does it?”

  “What you and your ilk are doing is wrong, but I wouldn’t expect a bitch like you to understand,” Adina said with a shrug. Her long nails grew to an incredible length, at least six inches, and I guessed this was some kind of succubus power. However, even though it looked like she was ready for a fight, her arms and legs were shaking.

  She was afraid.

  “Ha!” Maliperum barked. “Wrong? We’re succubus! Since when have we ever cared about matters like right and wrong? We’re denizens of the Underworld, girl! Succubus are supposed to be wrong! We seduce, lie, cheat, steal, and treat men as our playthings! That is what it means to be a succubus! Your mother is the one who doesn’t understand!”

  Adina gnashed her teeth together as her fingers twitched. This girl definitely had a history I would be interested in finding out more about… if we managed to get out of this alive.

  “You know, I don’t particularly care what sort of disagreement you people are having,” I said as I stepped forward, unsheathing my sword as I went. I pointed my sword at the woman, even though she was several feet away. “All I want is to deep throat that foul mouth of yours with two feet of steel. So shut the fuck up and let’s get this party started.”

  “Hmph! You’re quite confident now that you’ve been set free.” Maliperum sneered at me as her nails became long, her batlike pinions extended behind her, and her tail curled around to face us like it was also a weapon. “But don’t think being free means anything. That girl right next to you is a pathetic excuse for a succubus, and while your level might be high, you’re still weak from my beating.”

  “Or so you think,” I replied with a sneer of my own. “Even if that was the case, so what? We have a secret weapon to fight you with.”

  “A secret weapon?” She gave a mocking laugh. “What secret weapon is that?”

  I smiled as Michelle stood up on wobbling legs behind Maliperum, who hadn’t noticed what she was doing yet. The symbols on her chest burned fiercely. Her face was twisted with pain. Even so, a spark appeared in her hands, a golden flash of light like the first rays of the morning sun. The light elongated as she reached out her hand and grasped it. Then it transformed into a sword.

  “The one behind you,” I said, still smiling.

  Maliperum didn’t seem to realize what I meant by that, but then Michelle raised her blade and brought it down on the succubus’s tail. An enraged shriek of pain blasted from her mouth. The tail flew off in a splatter of blood, striking the floor and twitching several times. Michelle’s face twitched as the Geass on her chest glowed an angry red. Hitting her own master must have caused intense pain.

  “You fucking bitch!”

  Whirling around, Mapilerum struck Michelle with a powerful backhand. The strike was so strong that Michelle was lifted off her feet. She crashed into the ground seconds later, her wings twisting as she rolled across the stone floor, and then stopped when she smacked into the wall at the far end. I couldn’t tell if she was alive or dead, but I hoped she was alive.

  Before Maliperum could turn around and face us, I charged forward and swung my blade. Mana was pulled from my body. My blade glowed a fierce red color as it caught fire. However, despite the ferocity of my swing, Maliperum managed to raise her hand and catch the blade between her nails. She hissed, an obvious sign that I had hurt her, but that was all she did. Damn. I hoping to cut her hand off at least.

  “Do not think you can defeat me… child!”

  I grunted and pushed against her. “Maybe I can’t defeat you on my own, but I’m not alone.”

  At that moment, Adina raced forward and sliced her claws into Maliperum’s side. The woman shrieked as the claws tore into her flesh. However, perhaps because of the level difference or maybe Maliperum’s own defensive capabilities, all Adina’s attack did was draw some blood.

  “I’m going to murder you!” Maliperum shrieked.

  She tried to attack Adina, but I had no intention of letting her do that, and so I pulled my blade back and came at her with several swings. Sparks flew as my sword flashed against her nails. My muscles strained as I put as much power as I could into every blow. An upward swing from the left. A spinning strike from the right. Each attack was blocked by this woman, though she also stumbled back every time I hit her.

  Mailperum must have been at a very high level to keep up with me. I didn’t know what level since I couldn’t see, but I was betting she was above level 50 at least. However, she couldn’t have been much stronger than I was; that much was clear in how she was only able to fight me to a stalemate.

  While I was keeping Maliperum occupied, Adina came in from behind the woman, who didn’t even see her because she was so busy blocking my swings. A loud roar escaped her throat as Adina finally lunged forward and stabbed her nails into Maliperum’s back. She leapt away before the enraged and hurt succubus could attack her, and then I came forward, mana draining from my reserves as I thrust my blade at her chest.

  Death by Piercing.

  It was almost sickening to see how easily my blade pierced this woman’s flesh. It went through her chest and out her back. Blood spilled from her mouth. I must have punctured a lung when I stabbed her. A snarl split her lips as she reached out and grabbed the blade with her hands, as though she could pull it out, but her strength was ebbing.

  She glared at me with her dulling eyes.

  “You… you will… not…”

  Whatever she had been trying to say, I didn’t care to hear it. I placed my foot on her chest and kicked her off my sword. She flew backward and landed on the stone floor. As I breathed heavily, trying to slow down my rapidly beating heart, Adina walked up to Maliperum and tapped her with a boot. I was surprised she hadn’t burst into ashes, but maybe it was because her level was higher than anyone else I’d killed. Perhaps it took awhile for her to disappear?

  “She’s dead,” Adina sighed in relief, then glanced at me with a smile. “Why don’t you go over and check on Michelle. I will deal with this corpse.”

  I didn’t know what Adina meant by that, but I nodded anyway and rushed over to Michelle. The woman was lying on her side, arms and legs awkwardly spread, wings splayed behind her back. I grimaced when I saw the blood running down her lips. I hope she just bit her lip and didn’t have internal bleeding. It did look like she had a concussion, though she was at least alive.

  Carrying the angel woman was a little awkward. Her wings made it impossible to carry her like a princess, so I had to maneuver the angel onto my back, slinging her limp arms over my shoulders before hooking my hands underneath her thighs. I had to lean forward so she wouldn’t fall off.

  Then I looked at Adina.

  I
hadn’t been sure what to expect when she said she’d take care of Maliperum, but as I watched her actions, I understood. Strange particles of red light were traveling from Maliperum and into Adina’s outstretched hand. As the particles entered, Adina’s body glowed brighter and brighter, while Maliperum’s body became translucent. This woman was draining her fellow succubus of her powers… or that was my theory.

  Another thing I noticed was that Adina’s tail grew longer the more power she drained. It had been short originally, barely six inches, but now it was at least a foot and a half, and it was getting longer still. By the time Maliperum’s body had disappeared entirely, her tail was about two feet in length.

  I walked over to Adina as she stood up and stretched. My eyes were drawn to the sensuous arc of her back, which moved into a set of slender shoulders blades and down below to one of the finest asses I had ever seen. She noticed me looking at her and smiled. It was… well, I was surprised by how bubbly and not seductive it was. Succubus were supposed to sex incarnate, so I didn’t think anyone could blame me for my shock.

  “What just happened?” I asked.

  “I absorbed her Life Essence and grew stronger,” she informed me.

  “And how much stronger is that?”

  “About… 10 levels,” she said at last. “If you’re curious, I was level 1 before. I’m level 11 now.”

  “What level was she at?” I asked, gesturing toward where Maliperum was.

  “Level 51… I think.”

  Okay. So a succubus was a little stronger than a human of the same level. During our fight, I noticed Maliperum was stronger than me, but she was actually a level below mine. Maybe she had put more of her Status Points into strength? That made me wonder what level the woman Brad had fought and lost against was. She was Maliperum’s master, right? She must have been at an even higher level.

  “Anyway,” Adina continued with a shake of her head. “We need to get moving. It won’t be long before the other succubus realize what’s happened and begin searching for us. I think it would be best if we find a safe place to lay low for awhile.” She glanced at the unconscious angel on my back. “We also need to heal Michelle.”