chronicles of eden - act I (63 page)

"I told you to retrieve the artifact, not to engage her in a fight," he said simply. Sasha and Rulo jumped a bit then looked at him with worried eyes.

"But master, we-" Rulo started before Daemon looked back up towards the succubus.

"And stop calling me that," he interrupted with as the demon watched the human carefully. He stood there as the dust floated around his boots, holding his blade in one hand. It was a straight edged blade with a black handle and a finely polished white hilt and bottom. The sword itself was a long blade with a pointed tip, having a few strange markings etched into it near the hilt. It gave off a slight shimmer as the markings glowed a soft blue light. It was more than apparent that the sword wasn't an ordinary blade, if the fact that it had deflected the demon's attack with a single swing wasn't enough to show for it.

The succubus chuckled amusingly as she slowly floated down and gently landed on the ground across from the human.

"Well, well, Daemon Warrick, I was wondering where you might have been while I was playing with your girls," she said with a wink.

"I doubt you got them excited at all, you seem pretty dull as far as women go," he commented. The succubus looked at him with a slightly stunned expression then smiled with a bit of anger behind her eyes.

"Such cold words, it's only because of your fortitude that I find any interest in you at all. You're hardly suited to be graced with my presence or attention," she snapped with a bite while her tail whipped behind her.

"You could only dream to have a mate as suitable as my master in life you filthy demon," Sasha raged.

"Sasha," Daemon said flatly. Sasha twitched then looked down with worry.

"Right, sorry," she said softly. Daemon shook his head then held his blade towards the succubus.

"You two secure the artifact. I'll deal with our charming friend here," he ordered as he kept his eyes on the demon. She smirked with a narrowed stare then dashed towards him, her feet hovering just above the ground as she flew forward and swiped at him with her hand. He darted to the side and dodged her tail's strike, then swung his blade with a quick crosscut. The succubus darted back and avoided the strike altogether before he dashed towards her and swung again, his blade slicing through the air. She swung her hand in a deflective strike, her nails razing against the blade as it sparked with a screech. His swing was knocked aside as the demon held her other hand back with a red glow forming around it, the succubus then holding it forward before a blast of magical energy erupted forth. The torrent of red light and haze shot forward as Daemon held his sword upright, the blade taking on the strike as it trembled in his grip. He was pushed back slightly before swinging his blade to the side, deflecting the magical strike off at an angle. It raced past him and tore through a few desks before slamming into a wall, the broken bits of wood bursting into flame as the wall was scorched and charred from the attack. Daemon casually spun his blade around with one hand then held it at the ready, his eyes remaining locked onto the demon before him. After a pause he slowly drummed his fingers on the blade’s handle, sensing he was being watched from the side.

"I said for you two to secure the artifact, not to watch me," he said glancing over to Sasha and Rulo. Both girls were watching him with adoring eyes as they stood there in a slight daze, a blush on each of their faces as they watched the human take on the demon. They quickly shook their heads then looked over to see the artifact on a table that had so far been untouched by the constant fighting around it. They raced towards it before the succubus flew over and swatted away Rulo with a backhanded strike, the orc spiraling off to the side as the demon's tail wrapped around Sasha's neck and took her to the ground. Her sword bounced off to the side as she choked and gripped the demon's tail in an attempt to pull it off. The succubus touched down and watched the reptile girl struggling to remove the tail from around her neck.

"Oh, once again you were so close. So sorry," the demon said playfully. She glanced over to see Daemon running towards her with his sword, then lifted Sasha up by her throat and held the girl in front of her. Daemon stopped running as the demon held a hand toward Sasha's back, the palm glowing with red and green pulses of energy while the reptile girl was on her knees with her hands gripping the demon's tail. Rulo got back onto her feet with a groan then looked to seeing Sasha struggling to pull off the demon's tail while choking.

"Tell me, would you care if I killed her? Would that make you sad?" the succubus asked with a cold smile. Sasha looked towards Daemon with pleading eyes and shakily shook her head.

"Don't stop for me, kill her. Don't let her take it," she coughed out. He kept his eyes on the demon with a cold glare as he gripped his sword firmly. Rulo held her giant hammer tightly as she watched the succubus holding her friend in front of them.

"You keep these two girls with you in your travels, so surely you care about them to some extent, right? Or are they merely tools for you to use, like that sword of yours?" the succubus asked with a chuckle. Sasha glanced back to her as she hissed with anger. Daemon kept his glare locked onto the succubus, then slowly brought up his sword at the ready. The demon looked at him curiously then laughed.

"Oh? Are you going to strike through her? My my, you
are
cold. And after this poor girl tried so hard to please you by coming here, that's not a very fitting reward for blind loyalty is it?" she asked playfully. Sasha snarled and glanced back to the demon.

"I'd rather die by my master's blade than be used as your shield. I'm prepared to die at any time for him, you coward," she hissed.

"Well, that’s fortunate my dear. Looks like he's going to do just that," the succubus laughed. She blinked then looked off to the side with a curious expression. Daemon and Rulo watched her closely as the demon shook her head with a small sigh.

"Oh dear, seems my little helper has run into some trouble. That's odd, I wouldn't have imagined a few humans being a match for her and her magic," she wondered. She shrugged and looked back to Daemon with a calm smile.

"My apologies, but it looks like I'm going to have to end this little playdate of ours. It was fun though," she said with a shrug. She looked down to Sasha with a smirk then glanced back to Daemon with a knowing smile.

"Now, what to do with this one…" she said as her tail tightened around the reptile girl's neck. Sasha choked loudly then bared her teeth with frustration. The succubus gently stroked her hand through the girl's ponytail with a soft chuckle. Daemon showed a slightly frustrated expression then slowly lowered his sword. The succubus laughed as Sasha looked at him with worried eyes.

"Ah, I see. So you
do
care about them. How touching," she taunted with a sly smile. Again she looked off to the side with a puzzled expression while holding the reptile girl down.

"Honestly, what has that girl gotten herself into this time?" she asked quietly to herself. She rolled her eyes then threw the reptile girl forward with her tail, the girl tumbling into a roll and collapsing down onto the ground gasping for air. The succubus walked over and grabbed the artifact off of the table then glanced to Daemon.

"Next time we meet I'll be sure to take my time and play with you more. Until then," she said with a wink. He tensed up before the succubus took off into the air, the demon laughing as she flew over the hall and out through the exit. Rulo ran over to Sasha and helped her sit up as Daemon walked towards them. Sasha coughed a bit then looked to him worriedly.

"I'm sorry I got in the way, master, please forgive me," she begged softly.

"I told you to stop calling me that," he said as he rested his foot on her sword. He kicked it towards Sasha, the blade sliding over and coming to a stop before her, then raised an eyebrow at the reptile girl.

"This isn't over yet," he stated. She nodded and grabbed her blade with a focused expression.

"I won't let her get away with your artifact, I swear it," she hissed as she stood up again. Rulo smirked and glanced to Daemon as he looked off towards the exit.

"What's our next move?" she asked as she held her hammer up over her shoulder. He motioned for them to follow then ran towards the exit, the two monster girls then running after him with haste.

*****

"Ok, let's try this again. Who do you work for?" Triska asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Go to hell!" Tora yelled out. She was then whacked on the head by Alyssa's staff, the dark witch crying out in pain while she was bound to the ground by green vines and weeds. She had a few lumps on her head as the group was looking down at her with annoyance, with the Ashwood guard and Triska still holding their swords down towards the witch. Alyssa looked at her with a dull expression as she tapped her staff in her hand.

"Wrong answer," she said flatly.

"Who had you attack our city?" the Ashwood guard demanded.

"Go to hell!" Tora yelled out again. Once more Alyssa clonked the dark witch on the head with her staff then looked around at the others.

"I don't think she's going to talk. Now what?" she asked as Tora mumbled something in a daze.

"Her serpents are still around, why haven't they gone away yet?" Daniel asked looking around at hearing the sounds of battle still going on in the city streets nearby.

"She has to recall them on her own. Once a summoned being is drawn out it stays out until either they or their master are killed," Alyssa said looking down to Tora again.

"Please make your monsters go away, stop this at once," Specca insisted with a somewhat firm tone.

"Go to hell!" Tora yelled out. As she was hit on the head again by Alyssa's staff Triska looked around with a careful eye.

"We're wasting our time with this one; she's not going to tell us anything. I say kill her and put a stop to all of this right now," she reasoned shaking her head. Squeak looked down at the bound witch with discontent then squeaked something sternly, pointing around at the city while squeaking then down to the witch as the others just glanced to her. Tora stared at the girl for a moment with a raised eyebrow then glared at her.

"Go to hell!" she yelled out. Alyssa whacked the dark witch on the head again with her staff then shook her head with annoyance. Daniel shook his head at the stubborn witch then looked up, seeing a figure flying up in the sky.

"Hey, what's that?" he asked pointing up. The group looked up to seeing the winged figure flying down towards them at high speed. Everybody watched as a woman with demonic wings landed down near them with a small gust of wind blasting around her, the woman looking at them with a curious smile while her wings retracted back behind her slightly. One of her hands was at her hip while the other was holding a strange artifact at her side.

"It's another monster," the Ashwood guard declared, pointing her sword towards the demon. Specca looked at the monster fearfully and backed up a step as did Alyssa, the two recognizing what type of monster it was.

"No way, it can't be," Alyssa breathed out, shaking her head with fright.

"Oh… god…" Specca said fearfully. Daniel glanced back to them then towards the demon as she was looking around at the group with an intrigued smile.

"My my, what have we here? Tora, dear, this isn't what I meant by you distracting the humans here in the city," she laughed. Tora looked at her with a nervous smile as the group glanced from her to the demon again.

"Who… what are you?" Triska asked cautiously.

"She's… she's…" Specca said with fright. She pointed to the demon and shook her head.

"That's a succubus!" she shrieked. The group looked to the demon with shock as she chuckled amusingly.

"She says that like it's a bad thing," she said with a playful tone.

"It's a Darker One, it's a Darker One!" Alyssa screamed out, holding her staff towards the demon defensively with a fearful expression.

"A Darker One?" Daniel said with shock. Triska and Squeak watched the demon with wide eyes as the Ashwood guard looked at her with a frustrated glare, all staring at one of the legendary Darker Ones of Eden. Tora chuckled and glanced to Alyssa.

"Allow me to introduce you to my mistress," she said with a slick smile. The succubus smiled amusingly at her then looked at the group with a calm expression. Tora looked over towards the demon with a proud smile.

"Kathryn Lyra Ellionatia, a succubus of true power," she declared boldly. The demon chuckled and held up a hand nonchalantly.

"Please, call me Katie."

In the world of Eden creatures known as monsters roamed the lands. Where they originally came from or how they came to be were unknown, as was also the reason to why they were all female. Whether they were created from magic or came from another world altogether, much about them remained a mystery. However, with the stories from travelers and adventures that had come across these strange creatures, mankind did learn a few things about the many different classes of monsters out there. There were some common factors among them and also some extreme differences as well. From the weakest and most timid of monsters to the more powerful and ruthless Darker Ones, they varied greatly despite their common desire to breed.

Of course, their methods of breeding weren’t always the same either.

*****

Daniel was staring with fearful eyes at the monster that stood before him and his group. Her demonic wings, her devilish tail, the glimmer in her eyes, the fear she instilled simply by what she was. Daniel had encountered monsters on his journey so far, long before he had even expected to. He had come across a magical caster in the form of a witch, an ant girl that possessed extreme physical strength, and a nixie that appeared gentle and timid with humans around her. However, he knew that there were some monsters in the world that wouldn't be so eager to form peace with mankind, that there were some that were truly malicious at heart. That some were in a class all their own in terms of power and true strength, and were to be avoided at all costs.