Chapter 60: First Death (2)

“Huh?” Katrin said as a wave of surprise overcame her. Her body felt sluggish, so much so that she nearly toppled over her own weight as she began to follow Wayla. Suddenly her balance pitched her forward and she fell to her knees with a soft thud.

“What’s wrong with my body? Why is it so heavy?” Katrin asked as she slowly struggled to get to her feet.

“As I said, First Death. Your body is in a highly vulnerable state. Right now you’re about as weak and fragile as any normal human being -- just one mortal blow could end you.” Wayla responded without even bothering to stop.

Katrin gritted her teeth as she slowly stood, wobbling a bit in the process. Sure enough she noticed a new icon in the lower left portion of her viewport. Focusing on it allowed her to better understand the effects of the strange status ailment now impairing her functions.

[First Death - (11:57:13). Develed (Currently Level 2) - 50% to all Stats. Regeneration rate and amount of HP and MP reduced by 50%. Sustaining further injury could be life threatening or fatal.]

“This is...really severe.” Katrin said as she suddenly felt a pain in her abdomen. Though her body had completely healed she could clearly still feel flashes of the trauma in her mind. She sighed, wrapping the towel in her hands around her chest and slowly following Wayla to their destination. After a slow, achy walk across several meters, Katrin finally stood face to face with the guardian of the Wilderness Tabernacle once more.

“Is there anything you wish to ask? In this world, as I’m sure you’ve come to understand, knowledge isn’t free. I’ll answer two questions only, the rest you must pay for as a service.”

Bracha was right, to an adventurer everything must be earned, thus Wayla’s attitude made perfect sense. Katrin had a pretty good idea as to her current situation. She also realized that it would be more than half a day before the effects of First Death wore off.

“When can I leave?” She asked.

“You can leave at your leisure, though I wouldn’t recommend it. Nothing is keeping you here though. I will offer you this advice though - anytime you return to a safe zone that isn’t within a Chapel walls you may only linger for so long. The blessing of this Tabernacle affords you 48 hours at most before you are forcefully expelled.”

Katrin immediately realized that Wayla was being more helpful, perhaps due to the fact that Katrin was relatively new to this world. With that in mind she thought of her second question.

------------------------------------------------------------

Agni couldn’t believe her eyes. She watched the bloody earth spire rise up several meters and impale both Katrin and Fargo in an instant. Much like the other defeated adventurers their bodies broke apart into spheres of light and drifted away as if caught by a wind. For a moment she struggled to wrestle with the anger building in her heart. Her eyes pulsed with dangerous energy, unlike the normal pink color they were now glowing red with rage.

She quickly turned her attention to the remaining member of the ambush party, her only solace laying in the fact that Katrin wasn’t truly dead.

“You bastard!” She shouted as she lunged forth and swiped her claws at Glint’s face, attempting to steal the sight from his other eye. He made sure to backstep at least half a meter, veering to the side as well in order to avoid Agni’s claw extension ability.

*Shit! I can’t believe that Fargo was defeated by a damn Scribe. Gaines will have my head if I don’t produce results now!* Glint’s thoughts grew desperate as he flicked his wrist, awaiting the return of the daggers he’d tossed to slay Katrin. He was left fending off Agni’s wild attacks in the short amount of time that would take. Her blows had become even more powerful, fast and dangerous as her ears grew more elf-like, pointy. Her incisors also grew several centimeters until they jutted from the corners of her mouth. A crazed expression painted her face as she battled Glint who, at this point, was having much more difficulty keeping up.

His eye was still bleeding feverishly and the pain was nothing to sneeze at either. Much as he expected, Agni began to mix in extension as part of her strikes against him. Her fingertips grew several inches and this coupled with her hardening ability was responsible for leaving at least one deep gash across his chest before the enchanted daggers finally returned to Glint’s grasp.

His adventurer class, Fighter was skilled in just about all types of combat but his favored weapons were a trio of enchanted daggers. They allowed him to throw his weapons with reckless abandon and in exchange for a bit of mana he could recall them at will. He’d used them to slay many monsters and adventurers but he easily found himself pushed back by the Succubus’ raw fury.

She combined her natural agility with her newfound strength. What’s more her words themselves seemed to affect Glint now. Rather than the slight sense of pull she exerted just minutes ago he could feel a deeply oppressive force that gathered around his limbs like chains with each word she spoke.

The problem was --

“Die!”
“Bleed For Me!”
“Grovel, Worm!”

Each heavy blow was accompanied by an order which, though he could only feel the force for a second at best, was enough to slowly whittle down his remaining strength. At the last command he felt his knees buckle, helpless to resist Agni’s compulsion. As his knees hit the cobblestone road he was now breathing heavily, gashes on his arms, chest and thighs. Due to the vicious nature of her assault his weapons never even made a return, he lost control of the technique and was now on his last legs. Still, Glint’s mind never stopped moving.

*If she gets too overzealous I can easily turn this around..* This was his thought as he imagined all of the best ways to take her out with a single strike. Agni stopped her assault and gazed down upon him as if he were the epitome of filth at the bottom of her feet.

As he expected Agniprepared for her last strike by rearing back to slash him in the face. He’d purposely adopted a stance on his knees to lull her into such a strike. He twitched his fingers, activating his blades once more so that they would strike Agni at the opportune moment. One aimed for her abdomen, the other for her leg to both wound and incapacitate her. His reward would be grand for landing such a high value target, so though his face was downcast and motionless Glint’s anticipation was overflowing.

The dagger’s shot forth with unprecedented speed, for Glint could control the return of his weapons based on the amount of mana he poured into their runes. He gritted his teeth as the savory sensation of besting his opponent almost made his mouth water, his face twisting into a sneering gloat.

At the last moment Agni halted her movement forward and took but a single step back. This was enough to dash Glint’s hopes of mounting a comeback victory and because he was so helpless on his knees he couldn’t defend against what happened next.

Agni’s fingertips shot forth, extending over a meter and piercing him in his shoulder, chest and abdomen. With her other hand she repeated the same action, sinking her hardened fingernails into Glint’s body with ease before landing a kick hard to his temple which nearly knocked him cold.

“Ah, you like to play? Fine. Let’s play.” Agni said, her eyes now pulsing with red energy which absolutely bubbled from the depths of her anger. She grasped Glint by his throat and sank her claws deep into his abdomen, giving them a twist before she tossed his body against a nearby wall.

Without giving Glint a moment to respond she summoned forth her halberd and pierced his shoulder to the nearby wall before pulling her weapon out forcefully. This caused a spurt of blood to spray, covering Agni’s lips and face. She flicked her tongue to capture the taste of his essence, fully lost to the symphony of anger and revenge which plagued her mind and heart.

“Pick up your knives.” She commanded as she drew closer to Glint. He was now sweating profusely as he struggled to resist her directives. She grabbed him by the collar and pulled him face to face as she issued command after command for him to follow. With each Whisper he felt his mind slowly breaking until the next thing Glint knew he was holding a dagger in each hand.

“Kneel.” She commanded, and his body responded in mind, forcing him to a prostrate position. She circled him slowly like a predator eyeing her prey before she took up a spot at his back. He could feel the weight of her breasts against his shoulder blades as Agni wrapped her arms around his neck and gently hugged him. With her senses in such disarray, the succubus side that she’d been struggling to suppress was now free to reign. Every emotion was hers to indulge in, every second was hers to compel. She could feel how hard Glint’s heart was beating against his chest, each thud was like a melodic rhythm which spurred her on.

She bit her lip as she flicked her tongue against his ear lobe and bit his neck gently. Meanwhile Glint was bewildered and completely afraid. He’d been struggling to shrug off the effects of her skill but the best he could manage was muscle spasms. Her proximity to him made the technique all the more oppressive, as if there were a thousand hands with a firm grip holding down his every movement and thought.

She lingered on his neck, biting down and pulling the soft flesh there between her teeth until she felt his body tense in discomfort.

The most sultry giggle erupted from her mouth as her grip around his neck tightened and she drew closer to his earlobe.

“Pierce your lung with one of your blades.” She commanded. Her voice was silky and smooth, as if it was the most natural thing in the world to desire. Thus Glint’s hand shook as he desperately fought the command, but to no avail. The blade pierced his chest and found its way to the mark. His own experience worked against him as he used the very best place to strike against himself.

“Now..” Agni said, switching earlobes and drawing even closer,” Use the other to pierce your heart. Die for me, k?” She commanded as her body and mind reached a fever pitch of ecstasy. She relished the thought of the blade sinking deep into his skin and listening to the sound of his fading heart beat -- a fitting end to a bitter enemy.

She couldn’t help but sink her claws into his collar bones as she watched him press the tip of his dagger into his flesh once more. Glint’s hands shook profusely as he struggled to stop this mad game and then he focused with all of his will and resolve.

*No, No, No!* He repeated to himself in order to fight his urges, his eyes pressed shut to focus better. And suddenly he felt the pressure relieve against his body. The weight of Agni on his shoulders disappeared and the oppressive force binding him lessened as well. Within a few moments he could feel his muscles too. He opened his eyes, hoping to quickly capitalize on the brief moment, only to find Agni staring him in the face, just centimeters from his -- close enough to kiss even.

For an instant he was caught up in her eyes which flashed with such domineering energy that he was completely distracted by both her beauty and the torrent of emotion concealed beneath them. She wrapped her left hand around his head and slowly leaned in, pulling him ever closer and for a moment she was all that he wanted. So much so that he didn’t feel the pressure on his chest as the blade slowly began to sink into his chest.

When Glint finally realized what happened Agni was on top of him, straddling him as she slowly shoved the dagger into his heart with her right hand. Their gaze never broke, making her fiery red eyes the last thing Glint saw before he perished.