The combination of acid and suction would be disgusting for any observer to hear. Soon, Slate could feel his ruined flesh knit together, and his knee restructure. The combination of biomass and life force worked to repair his damaged host. He wasn't sure if other creatures in this world could heal in this way, but he had known it was effective since his fight with the pangolin that felt so long ago.
Soon, the meal was finished. He rose and made his way back to Vindicia. She was lying exactly where he left her, and he approached her prone form slowly. Merus interrupted his observation.
What are you doing, Slate? He asked once more.
This time, Slate had the presence of mind to articulate how he was feeling. "My instincts are driving me crazy. I know objectively that I should kill this woman and move on, but something is telling me I need her." In response to his words, the drugged elf tried to thrash around to shake off the paralytic, but she couldn't manage more than a couple half-hearted wiggles. If Merus could roll his eyes, he would have. The parasite sounded like a love-drunk youngling who had seen his first crush unclothed. Granted, Vindicia was beautiful, and she was lying there naked for the taking. But this kind of thing was never Merus' fetish.
This doesn't seem like you. He noted, instead.
"You're right, it doesn't." Slate replied. "But my instincts are what led me to you, and now they've led me to her." He gestured to the woods around him. "This whole Reaping seems as if it's been designed for me and I have to wonder what this woman's place is in it."
Could you be wrong? Merus asked.
Slate shrugged. "Sure. But I have nothing to lose in this anyway."
He walked to Vindicia's form and knelt in the dirt next to her. He gripped her by the shoulder and hips and turned her onto her back so that she was looking up at him. Her eyes were wild and panicked. He could tell she was trying violently to resist the toxin he had pumped into her body. Slate found it ironic that she looked more scared than the doe he had just consumed.
"I'm not Merus. I am a different kind of man than the rest of your small village, Vindicia." Slate spoke as he languidly traced a finger on her face and down her chest. "There's a famous general from my world who once passed a small hamlet in his travels." He said serenely. "The general had conquered vast swaths of territory through cunning and strength of will." His finger now traced down her toned stomach. "He had been able to inspire the deepest of loyalty in his troops; to the degree that when his empire had turned against him, the army he led joined with him against their own government."
Slate's tail rose up behind him and the elf's eyes widened in shock at the cutting implement. The tail began to trace a path behind his finger. The sensation of the blade dragging across her bare skin and yet not drawing blood, caused her skin to pebble. "When he passed that small hamlet on the ride back to the capital, his aid asked him why he was so successful in politics and on the battlefield." The blade drifted down one her hips where it nicked a shallow cut. "Do you know what the general said?" He asked. Vindicia had been following the strange tale with horrified fascination. The tone of Slate's voice was silky smooth like the devil himself.
"He pointed to the little hamlet and said, I would rather be the first man in that village than the second man in the entire empire. The general eventually became the emperor of the largest empire in my world's history. His accomplishments are remembered in my world thousands of years after his death." His eyes met hers, and she found wondering what an ancient general had to do with their current situation.
"I'm going to be the first man in your village, and then I'm going to be the first man in this whole world." He said the words simply and blandly as if the statement was already true and they were all just waiting for the events to come to fruition.
He paused. "You've lived your whole life training to become the best warrior in Woodhaven. You've sacrificed love, family, and friends in the pursuit of your goals. I don't know why you chose to betray your village, I don't know why you turned away from Silvys, and I don't know why you want to kill the Guardians." He looked into her flint-colored eyes as if reading the answers in them. "What I do know is that we share common goals and a common enemy. I also want to kill the rest of the Guardians, I'm also going to overthrow Silvys, and I also want to kill the elders that hold your people in bondage. I would prefer to do that with you by my side. But make no mistake, no matter how my instincts are screaming to turn you into one of me, I'll kill you right now to remove a future threat."
He brought his tail forward and rested it against her throat until a thin line of blood spread from its contact. "You're a peerless warrior, and it would be a shame to kill someone so capable. You need to accept the fact that I've beaten you." He continued cajolingly, "there's no shame in it. Together, we can right the wrongs that were done to you and create a better future." Slate knew that the best allies were prior enemies. They had more to prove their loyalty. When channeled the right way, the results could be spectacular.
He waited quietly for her response. As the moonlight settled over his silhouette, Vindicia could feel a tingling in her extremities that told her the paralytic was fading. She tried to move her fingers experimentally, and the slight movement immediately drew Slate's attention. When that happened, she knew that she had been defeated. There wouldn't be any surprising the creature. It was some arcane amalgamation of monster and elf that she had no hope of overcoming.
She didn't want to die and see her vengeance against Woodhaven go unfulfilled. This monster was offering her everything she wanted. She only had to give in. She hadn't given in when her parents were murdered by Guardians for the sake of Silvys. She hadn't given in when she had been raised by Nefas Silverhorn, who used his position to beat and abuse her. Instead, she had spent thirty years training and plotting the downfall of the village. In a single night, this creature had upset her carefully crafted plans and had a real chance of accomplishing everything he had claimed he was going to do. She only had to give in.
She felt more sensation returning to her body. She attempted to speak. "What's in it for me?" She croaked.
It was difficult to understand her, but Slate could feel the meaning of her words if he didn't get the exact content. Slate kept his face blank. He could sense that she was on the precipice. His mana vision revealed that her body beginning to collect its ambient mana again. The paralytic had almost completely worn off. He pressed the blade of his tail more firmly against her throat. A new stream of blood dripped from the wounds. "I'm going to make you a queen, Vindicia. Your body is calling to me, and my parasitic nature demands it. You're going to be the first, and you're going to help me take over this world."
Vindicia didn't see the point of remaining stubborn. Now that she had gotten to this point, she realized that she was infinitely tired. She had carried her vengeance for her entire life, and in one evening, it had been turned around. She reflected on the fact that Sumnu, idiot that he was, had warned them all that this was going to pass. In her arrogance, she had thought that he had been referring to her actions. She should have known. The council had been too excited. All of these facts were coming together to one result. This creature was bringing change to the entire forest. She could either give in and join him, thereby gaining everything she had worked for or she could die.
She spoke again, and she realized that her voice had returned to its full strength. "You have to make me one promise." Her voice was hard.
Slate could tell that it concealed an authentic fear. "What is it?" He said, neither committing nor denying."
She swallowed, and the action caused more of her blood to spill. "You have to kill the elder council."
"Done." He said simply, and then he removed the blade from her throat. She sighed in relief, and before she could say anything else, Slate pressed his lips to hers. He greedily kissed her, his will all but shattered. At first, she was confused. She hadn't expected him to take her now. She had thought he meant later-somewhere else. She felt panic well in her body as her he
art trembled. Slate lowered his head and began to lick away the blood that had coalesced on her throat. She gripped his hair as he cleaned up the mess that he had made. She didn't know what to think, and so she didn't. She tried to enter a meditational state as her former enemy roamed and explored her body.
Soon, not even that could keep her mind occupied as Slate roughly opened her legs and took her completely. It would be a mistake to say that the couple made love. They held no love for each other. Not yet. They were driven by forces within, and without that they couldn't completely comprehend. Slate was propelled by a desire to propagate the Scourge and Vindicia was enticed by the promises that he had made to her.
This had been an alliance, not a marriage.
Little did they know, this had been planned from the moment the Lord of Light had brought Slate into this world. She watched their consummation with a sense of satisfaction. Both of them had been selected for their respective abilities. She hadn't had a hand in their upbringing, but she was pleased with how they turned out. Her return to this world would be surprising to her enemies, indeed.
As Slate shot his seed into Vindicia, he collapsed on top of her. She, in turn, held him in her arms and gasped as he pumped his seed into her. She could feel the sheer power in the excretions as it took root in her womb. Something about the dirt and forest that surrounded them made their carnal act feel especially primal. There was an energy and a presence that Vindicia felt approved of their union. It didn't do much to soothe her troubled mind, she merely hoped that Slate will deliver on everything he had promised.
She idly stroked the nape of the neck of the still-unnamed man as she was lost in her thoughts. She felt a measure of disconnectedness to the moment, and she was startled back to reality when the flesh on the man's spine caused blood to be drawn when she stroked it. She didn't make a sound, but Slate sensed her pain anyway. He removed himself from her with a slippery pop, and she gasped at the abrupt removal of his member. She laid there, waiting for what he would say next. She tried to cover her genitals and breasts with her hands. All of sudden ashamed by her nakedness even though she had traipsed through the forest all night in the same condition.
She noticed that Slate had observed the movement and she removed her hands and quickly got to her feet. Anger and embarrassment colored her face. "What next?" she asked tightly as she crossed her arms over her chest.
Slate studied her beautiful figure before glancing up at the sky. "It seems we have more killing that needs to be done tonight." He noted the fading moon. "We only have a few hours before sunrise, and we still have two Guardians to kill."
Vindicia glanced at the moon and realized that he was right. "What do I call you?" She asked quietly.
He looked back at her. "Slate." He studied her closely. "Are you going to be able to do this?" Now that the overwhelming desire to have her had faded, his analytical mind had returned. The warrior in front of him didn't look nearly as confident as she did before. He was worried that she wouldn't be of much use in the coming conflict.
She snarled at him. "I'll be fine. I didn't wait this long for my revenge to be upset by some man." She stormed to him and stabbed a finger into his chest. "You beat me, and I accepted your terms. No more and no less. Let's finish this hunt so you can give me what you promised."
Slate drew back, both amused and impressed. Vindicia was going to be a phenomenal addition to his team. His marriage back on his world hadn't been one of love either. It had been pure politicking. After being married for a while, they had figured out a way to make it work. He didn't expect this to be any more difficult. Vindicia turned away from him and he saw her gather magic and quickly activate her communion with the Wyldwood.
She took off running and threw a taunt over her shoulder. "Let's get hunting. We don't have much time left."
Their dual connection to the forest meant that they didn't need to communicate out loud to each other as they both broke into a jog towards the next target. Vindicia ran like a forest nymph through the night. Despite Slate's best attempts to remain concentrated on the mission, he couldn't but jog just slightly behind Vindicia to get a better view.
Vindicia glanced back and flashed him an irritated glance. She knew exactly what he was doing. Their connection to the Wyldwood transferred impressions and feelings to the other. The bond between them didn't allow him to hide his very obvious thoughts. Slate blushed at being caught and was thankful that the darkness hid his features. Vindicia, for her part, merely increased her pace, causing Slate to speed up. Vindicia couldn't tell if she was running toward something or away from someone.
It wasn't long before they approached the sensory range of their prey. Slate slowed to a walk, and Vindicia matched his pace. Their target was just ahead of them and walking in their direction. Slate didn't like the fact that they weren't approaching from behind, but he didn't have a choice or the time to set up a better ambush. He looked over to Vindicia, silently asking her about his plan. She nodded and grinned impishly. This was the first time he had seen her communicate something other than anger since their union.
This communication was growing extremely convenient. Slate pondered the fact that Merus hadn't seemed to say anything to him since he had taken Vindicia in the forest. He hoped that Merus wasn't mad that he had used his body for his own means. Slate figured that the elf would speak up when he needed to. Dismissing thoughts of the elf, he walked silently at an angle from Vindicia. He planned that the Guardian would be distracted by Vindicia's naked form and then Slate could kill him with impunity. Slate chuckled to himself, he would probably fall for such a distraction too.
Soon enough, they had come upon their target. He had been studying something on the ground when Vindicia made an intentional rustling sound. He looked up startled, and his mouth gaped open. "Vindicia!" His voice came out choked. "What are you doing here?" He stood up awkwardly, and Slate took the opportunity to circle behind him. The man had been so distracted he didn't even hear Slate move behind him. Vindicia smiled and met Slate's eyes just behind the man. The elf didn't even seem to notice that she wasn't looking directly at him. His gaze was too focused on the perky breasts on full display.
“Oh, Tedric," she said breathlessly, "I came here for you." She evilly reached up and grabbed her breasts with both hands dramatically and twisting her body until her curves were highlighted. Any red-blooded male within three miles had to have felt the sexual appeal. Slate smirked at the thought that some man somewhere was looking at their trousers and wondering at the random erection. The effect that it had on Tedric was immediate. As if he were drawn by magic, he shakily took a couple of steps toward her.
An unusual flash of jealousy suffused and Slate snarled. His tail came up and sliced through Tedric's neck with such force that his head was removed entirely from his body. He snarled at the collapsing body as blood fountained from his shoulder like horror movie sprinkler.
Congratulations! You have slain a level 30 Wood Elf! You have earned 12,050 experience. You are currently within a host body and can decide to give the experience to the host or to your own body! You cannot split the experience.
Congratulations! You have reached level 20!
Warning! You have received enough experience to reach the next level. However, you have not completed the faction requirements to proceed with your next major evolution. You cannot progress to level 21 until you have undergone evolution. Your accumulated experience is capped at 39,499. The excess experience has transferred to your host body.
"What the fuck?" Slate said, startled from his jealousy by the system message.
Vindicia ignored his outburst. She was focused on finishing their gruesome task for the evening. "Let's go get the next one." She went to turn and leave the site of the battle, but Slate grasped her hand. She hissed at the contact, and he quickly let her go.
"No, we have to eat him." He explained. “It's how I collect biomass to fuel my mutations." Vindicia looked confused at the statement. "Watch," he said, "or don't
–it's pretty graphic."
Slate knelt down and began to eat his latest victim. As soon as he started, he heard Vindicia let out a low groan. Slate looked up, thinking that she was feeling nauseous about the way he was eating. He grew concerned as he saw her clutching her stomach. Between her fingers, he could see a small bulge. It started moving underneath her fingers, and Vindicia let out another moan of pain. Slate looked on in fear and disgust as he could see what looked like a small snake roll and coil in her abdomen.
Vindicia's face went white as she opened her mouth to cough and as she did so, her tongue lengthened into a prehensile one resembling Slate's. As her new tongue returned to its dwelling, they shared a glance. Vindicis gave a nervous, almost hysterical laugh. "So, that's what you mean by mutation." She paused and looked down at her stomach that now had a noticeable bulge. "I guess the baby is hungry too."
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