novelnext 62. Under the Mountain, Part 8: Imp
62. Under the Mountain, Part 8: Imp
62. Under the Mountain, Part 8: Imp
The two of us descend from the cavern ceiling on a dragline, me in a silken harness, and Spindle clutching my armor from behind like a crane claw. This gives us another good view of the camp. Sure enough, there are several Lizardmen screwing each other in the vicinity. By the look of it, a few of them have vaginas—Lizard-trans-men? Actually, I don’t hate the idea. Could be an interesting lay if the opportunity presents.NewW novels updates at novelhall.com
We land stealthily on the building’s roof without causing a ruckus. Looking around, my best avenue for access is the ventilation, so I pop the grating with my spear, unsummon my armor to fit, and crawl inside. My arachnid companion follows behind me.
“Ara ara, what on earth are you wearing? Spindle loves it!”
“Really, oh, thank you! I’m trying to highlight the shape of Alex’s ass without revealing too much. That way, you want to see what’s underneath all the more!”
“You’ve certainly succeeded... And the rubies are a nice touch.”
“Will you two stop with the panty shoptalk? This is the stealth portion of the mission!” I reprimand Flou and Spindle for their banter. I sigh; at least they’re bonding.
“Sorry, Alex,” my Fuzzy Slime underwear apologizes.
“Don’t worry so much. Spindle is certain your paramour is fine. ‘Love conquers all,’ you know.”
“In my experience, a giant fuckoff weapon tends to help.” I slow to take a corner on my hands and knees, and Spindle ‘clumsily’ faceplants into my rear, directly into my pussy. Several times. “Mmm,” I can’t help getting a little horny with the threat of discovery.
“Vermillion, shh! I hear voices.”
It’s your fault for touching me there!
“...And then?” a screechy male voice like rusty nails on a chalkboard says. Ugh, that’ll kill a boner.
“The aberration produced dozens of tentacles that attacked our patrol!” a Lizardman says (their voices have a bit of an accent from the reptilian muzzle). “They stung, bit, and struck us, but our armor held strong.”
“Then where is my human-aberration prisoner?” the screechy voice mocks.
“Er, that is, the battle seemed to be in our favor, so I was ordered to prioritize retrieving the female Kobold to prevent her injury. But I suppose the aberration must have escaped!”
“No.” The screechy voice sounds coldly displeased. “Several patrols are late reporting to base. I suspect the aberration is responsible.”
“H-how could one human possibly neutralize that many Lizardmen? It’s not possible!”
“I didn’t ask for your opinion. Be silent.”
“Hrk!” The Lizardman makes a choked noise and pained grunts.
“You there, Kobold girl, why did the aberration protect you?”
“...”
“Answer me.”
“Kyaaa!” *Cough, cough*
That’s Opal’s voice! I crawl faster, heart hammering as their voices grow louder each second as I near them.
“Well?”
“...”
“I said answer me!”
“Kyyyaaa!!!”
I’m going to murder this guy!
“Had enough?”
After gasping for breath, Opal says, “...I’m bearing her child.”
“Ah, now I look closer, those tattoos on your belly... the mark of Echidna...”
“Flou, Blood Star!” The Red Slime flows into my hands and morphs into her battle form, breaking through the ventilation shaft so our group tumbles forth. “Olindia, wreck their shit!”
I summon my armor as I land and survey the situation. This is the showroom of the old cookware store, but all of the furniture has been pushed to the walls or torn apart and repurposed to create a large open space. Burning sconces illuminate everything in flickering yellow light, making me think the Imp doesn’t have low-light vision.
I find him standing against the far wall. He looks like a twisted Goblin on steroids dipped in tar. At four feet tall, he doesn’t seem that impressive, but his nine-inch cock is sporting a few spikes I’m confident are as hard and sharp as they appear. Yikes.
Five Lizardmen vaguely surround where I fell. A doorway stands behind me. Opal is a few feet beyond them wearing a cursed black collar. Four nude humans, two men and two women of variable ages, cower in a pentagram of runes near the Imp. They all have black collars and no fire of rebellion left in their eyes, just a thousand-yard stare.
“The aberration... Echidna, whatever you are,” the Imp says, “You were born human, which means I, Malik the Mystical, can finally reach the third-tier!”
“That won’t work,” I say, relishing any chance to rain on his parade, “I’ve already been ‘Hunted’ by an Ogre.”
“Oh, that’s right, the Human Hunter path works that way... no matter. Mine is the Human Subjugation path. Whether you’re a virgin or a whore, when you’re my slave it counts for me all the same. Capture her! Kill the Webling.”
Sacrificing his humans for strength increased his power, true, but it’s a temporary boost. I could wait him out if I had the time. Unfortunately, there’s a mob of Lizardmen outside who want my head. Stalling is not an option.
I have one Multitasking focus on Blood Magic to wield my weapon, leaving me two focuses to summon weapons and magic. Not to mention my Slime familiars.
Flou shoots crystal-blood spikes from the morning star’s surface. The projectiles continue to veer away from Malik’s vitals, stabbing into his bulging arms and legs. I throw spears one-handed that similarly fail to find a weak spot, drawing blood and sticking from his flesh like porcupine quills. Olindia’s tentacles actually cause him to scream in pain when they connect, their jellyfish stings delivering a slow poison, but that makes them priority targets for him to crush in his flaming hands.
Those tentacles aren’t replaced once they’re destroyed. That second healing must have really exhausted the Pink Slime girl.
Wolf Rush!
I try to force an opening by charging in, then darting to his flank while destabilizing his footing with Earth Magic on the tiles, swinging upward with vines anchored to the ceiling, and aim a strike at his shoulder. Black runic wards slow the impact for a brief moment that lets him catch the mace’s head in his flaming palm.
“Ahhh!” Flou screams as part of her body gets burned.
Malik laughs and prepares to throw a punch at me when he’s hit in the temple by a piece of broken tile. How did it slip past the wards?
“Ow.” He turns to see Opal picking up broken tiles and pieces of rubble to chuck at him. “Hold still, lizard.”
“Kyaaa!!!” Opal’s black collar pulses, causing her pain as she attempts to rebel.
I kick off Malik’s shoulder to get some distance, yanking Flou out of his grip while his focus is elsewhere. The Red Slime pulls at the pools of blood on the floor to restore the mass she lost to the dark flames.
In his anger, Malik turns to charge at Opal when he’s stopped short. His legs are webbed to the ground! As I watch, Spindle shoots sticky threads from her abdomen that tie and tangle the big Imp. He struggles to break free, wrenching his body violently. The spider girl underestimates his strength and is heaved into the air by the very strings she spun.
The overgrown Imp backhands her and Spindle crashes into the wall with a crunch. She falls and doesn’t rise.
I see red as my lovers are threatened once again.
An ember spear flies from my fingers, its course bent from Malik’s organs and arteries by wards, but it shatters on impact to scatter burning coals across the flammable webbing draped across his body.
“Fuuuck!!! You bitch!” Malik screams and pats himself but can’t extinguish the natural flames with his black-burning palms.
“Flou, shoot your spikes the second before impact!”
Wolf Rush!
I spring forward, tether my vines to Malik’s chest, and leap at him with an earthen pillar stepstone as the green cables reel me in, everything adding to my acceleration. The spines on Blood Star fire at the Imp in mid-swing. The purple-glowing black runes on his body flare and the projectiles are diverted, but I’m not concerned. I figured out how Opal’s attack managed to hit him. The wards can be overwhelmed and need a few seconds to recharge, creating an opening.
Blood Star smashes into Malik’s face at full speed.
I land at the same time as the Imp’s headless corpse.
*Decapitated the Imp – One Profane Mark!*
How was that only worth one mark?
Opal rushes over, embracing me fiercely as her black collar shatters. I hold her, comforting the little Kobold girl for a moment as she cries in relief.
“Spindle!”
I run to the spider girl’s side to inspect the damage. She’s unconscious and bleeding from multiple compound fractures. Black and purple flames cling to her in places until I smother them with Blood Magic, the only liquid I have lying around, but the darkness sinks into her skin and spreads as I watch.
Concentrating all my Multitasking focuses on the job, I connect with and bring forth a type of magic new to me with an effort of will, “Pink Slime Restoration.”
My hands glow with soothing rosy light that penetrates her motionless form. Spindle stirs as her bones are mended and her limbs straighten into natural angles. The dark energy, however, continues to course through her being before my eyes.
“Spindle, speak to me!”
Spider silk pours from her spinneret in filament threads that begin cocooning her body. “So loud, she’s trying to sleep.”
“You’re okay,” I say and sigh in relief. Webbing continues to weave itself across the spider girl’s form. “You’re evolving, aren’t you?”
“She just hopes it’s something good.”
I chuckle. “Want me to tuck you somewhere safe?”
“Spindle hoped you’d carry her like a princess.”
“Maybe later. I need to see what it’s like out there, now Malik is dead.”
Opal pipes up, “With the collars gone, you’ll be a hero, Alex!”
“The collars... gone?” Spindle ponders the implications groggily. Then her eight eyes widen in horror. “Vermillion, you have to run!”
“No,” Opal disagrees, “Malik was a terrible leader; the lizard-folk will celebrate once they learn of your deed.”
“Run...” Spindle whispers before falling asleep as the silk cocoon completely covers her.
Before I can waste much time wondering what she meant, the sound of screaming reaches us.