Chapter 55

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Syr hummed happily as she held Cassandra's hand in hers, dancing with delight in the midst of countless onlookers. For her, though, the only world that existed was the one right here, her fingers laced smoothly together with Cassandra's, their eyes meeting. Cassandra could see the love in her heart for her, earnest and deep and well-felt, and on her end, Cassandra also felt genuine affection for Syr, if only from closeness rather than some deep romantic tension. The light of Cassandra's soul seemed brighter than the whole rest of the world, up this close, and certainly more important.

Even the filthy maggot soul was a distant thought, pushed to one side as she drew closer and closer to Cassandra's lips. She didn't intend to kiss Cassandra, of course - Cassandra would never let her, not yet, anyway. Cassandra was too sweet and kind and earnest to do anything like that. But she would draw closer, and closer, and closer to Cassandra, teasing her lips so close that it was maddening to her. Some part of her wanted to ignore her own will and simply take and claim those lovely soft lips of Cassandra's, to press mouth to mouth and delight in the fragmentary second of contact.

But she wasn't Loki.

She restrained even the thought of using her charm on Cassandra. She wanted the girl to love her honestly, no magic involved, just as she loved Cassandra honestly, with no magic involved. Even thinking about doing so might make Cassandra run away from her, so she did her best not to. Whatever tiny passing bits of that thought passed through her mind weren't enough to disturb the pleasantness of this moment.

Cassandra was a wonderful dancer. Her muscular body moved with the smoothness of someone several Levels above her, and she smiled with an inviting warmth and an open soul as they danced together. Cassandra knew that she wanted to do all sorts of things with her, and she didn't (currently) reciprocate or anticipate ever reciprocating, but she was just happy to dance together anyway. There needed to be no words passed between them for the whole dance to proceed - both literal and metaphorical.

When the pair finally sat down after dancing, Syr felt much more tired than her Cassandra did. She reached for the other girl's hand once more, twining fingers together intimately. She wanted so dearly to reach out with her lips even now, to kiss knuckle and bicep and neck and everywhere else, to swallow up her beloved's body with her mouth in countless loving touches. She knew she would have to wait until her Cassandra realized how awful her husband was, and how kind and sweet and earnest Syr was, but her heart was a wild inferno desiring nothing but the intimacy she still couldn't have. Her mouth, on the other hand, said different words entirely. "So, what do you think of Black Agony?" She asked, with a playful smile on her lips.

"She's... very nice," her Cassandra said, earnest as ever. The sweet thing couldn't see what an awful woman the filthy maggot-soul was, because she saw the best in everyone, even those with absolutely no redeeming qualities, like the filthy maggot-soul. "You really... don't like her..." Cassandra's voice was tantalizingly soft, almost hopeless and piteous. She brought up one hand, gently caressing her Cassandra's cheek, feeling true delight at the touch.

"I can't control who I like, Cass," she said. Her Cassandra gave her an awkward smile in return.

"It'd be..." she trailed off after a moment, but Syr could already tell that her thoughts were going to Drake. She'd been thinking something like that it would be easier if she liked the debauched, spoiled, degenerate lecher who had her Cassandra in his bed but constantly sought out new women? Easier for whom, precisely? "He's not... like that... at all..." her Cassandra said.

"I didn't say anything," Syr replied, smiling warmly.

"You... were thinking... it..."

"Well, I'll try to lock up my thoughts, but they're pretty good at getting out!" Syr said. "Especially when you're around, Cass!" She wanted to lean in and just give her Cassandra the tiniest peck on the cheek. Not even to devour her, just to show her affection physically - Cassandra blushed and shook her head a little. At least she knew what Syr wanted. Syr sat back, thinking to herself. If Cassandra simply no longer cared for the filthy maggot-soul, it would be so much easier... but in all honesty, Syr hardly knew enough about the girl in question to do anything... but if she did know...

Cassandra frowned. "What are you... thinking?"

"Ah! Sorry," she said, smiling brightly. "I was off someplace else! Do you want to dance again?"

Cassandra hesitated for a second or so. Then she gave a gentle smile and nod, and Syr drifted off to an entirely unique sort of ecstasy. For a time, she simply enjoyed the moment, the feeling of her feet and Cassandra's, moving across the dance floor, of hand against hand, skin against skin, the occasional moment when more than just their hands touched.

The motions eventually sent her thought to the game of chess. She did find something pleasant in all such games of strategy, even if she was a natural master of them. The task of taking apart the puzzle and completing it, which such deterministic games became for her, was pleasant... but she also knew the theory.

At the start, there are only a few board states; and at the end, there are only a few board states. These can be solved, and an individual can become an expert in them. In the middle, however, is a near-infinite set of board states, potentialities unrealized and unimagined until they appeared. Thus, the best way to play was to avoid losing, to trade up, to acquire an ever-better position, in the mid game.

She had let her emotions overwhelm her, she saw, in that moment of near-perfect bliss and insight. She had forgotten to even consider how best to acquire an advantageous position in her courtship, instead merely basking in pleasant flirtation with Cassandra and quietly picking at her fury over her husband's mistreatment of her and her disgust at the filthy maggot-soul.

The best way to acquire a better position was obvious once one thought about it, and as the dance ended, she made the first step. "Cass," she said, a smile on her lips. "Do you think I can sleep with your husband?"

* * *

I was surprised when Cass told me what had happened. Not about the dancing - it was her choice and her life, and she really did enjoy dancing with Syr. But the idea that she'd want to sleep with me...

The whole thing regarding who Syr 'was' was mostly just confusing. Syr was clearly related to Freya in some way. According to her, she had a dysfunctional falna, and she had displayed such powers. She was a retired member of the Freya familia, apparently, though she worked at Mia Grand's Hostess of Fertility (Mia Grand herself was a retired member of the familia). Cass felt like they were different people, and she was my trusted people-reading machine.

On the other hand, Syr really acted like she was secretly Freya, having people-reading skills on par with Cass's, and vomiting on seeing Julia. (Presumably because Julia's Exaltation was a part of her soul and, being coated in Neverborn juice, it was ugly as sin.) Daughter, somehow, abstractly, maybe? Gods didn't have kids (though I was pretty sure I could knock up Loki, with my absolute fertility control), but Freya was herself a goddess of fertility.

I put it aside for the moment. If Syr was Freya, should I try to be romantically intimate with her? She had tried to kill Julia and done all kinds of crazy shit with Black Cat and Black Fist. On the other hand, she would absolutely keep doing that whether or not I fucked her. If we became romantically intimate, she might turn her attention to me instead of Cass. Not in the sense of imagining she'd fall in love with me, but in the sense of sending guys with knives to try to force me to Level up. I did need to Level, and also, I would honestly rather I was her target than Cass. I loved Cass very much and didn't want her hurt - also, she was lightly suicidal, so she would make worse decisions under Freya's gaze than me.

I'd rather Freya come after me than Cass, absolutely, and that was pretty much the only potential new consequence.

On the other hand, if Syr wasn't Freya - well, then she was just a waitress at the Hostess of Fertility with a messed-up falna who was in love with my wife and probably hoping that intimacy with me was a way to get intimacy with her. In that case, I didn't have any problems trying to start a relationship with her, even if I was pretty sure that Cass was 100% straight.

I didn't make the decision unilaterally. I had nine wives and Loki had sincerely confessed her love to me, but going down the line to ask them - well, Rei didn't believe that Syr wasn't Freya, but she said it'd definitely be hot to surprise impregnate a goddess of fertility and beauty, and that she'd totally support whatever I chose. Erza absolutely didn't believe it was even possible that Syr was Freya, and was already imagining Syr becoming my tenth wife with glee at being able to spend more time with her friend. The rest's opinion was motley, but they let me make the choice. (Julia suggested that, if Syr was Freya, I should fuck Cass in front of her, and then fuck her in front of Cass, while not letting them do anything with one another, for some extreme lesbian NTR action.) Only Loki had any serious reservations.

"Wait, wait, wait. I just sincerely confess my love to you," she said, clearly dropping the line as a way of winning the argument rather than a sincere expression of her feelings, "and already you're looking elsewhere? I'm not goddess enough for you?" She said. "You want to screw that ho-bag too?"

I was surprised by the language, more than anything else. "That's harsh."

"She fucking tried to kill Xulia! That's your wife!"

"I'll remind you that you did that too," I said.

Loki opened her mouth and raised one finger, realized her own position, and barreled on anyway. "That was totally different. I thought she was an evil monstrosity from beyond time and space or something! Instead, she's just got a light seasoning of evil monstrosity from beyond time and space juice!"

"Freya probably can see Julia's soul. If Syr even is Freya."

"Neh," Loki said, with a noncommittal wave of her hand. "Gods can't get falnas. So she's not Freya. Probably just a weird Skill."

"Then why are you talking about how I shouldn't have sex with Freya?"

"Because you're talking about her!" Loki pointed at me. "She's a total nutjob. Drama llama. Seriously she's gotten on all my last nerves lately, do not have sex with her."

"What if Syr does turn out to be Freya?"

"As mentioned, she ain't," Loki said, "but if she was, then you better have mindbroken her on your cock before you find out."

"I don't... mindbreak people." That should have been obvious to Loki, given she was probably the one who had been on the most continuous receiving end of my various sex tricks, and was still her ornery self.

"Then I guess you're lucky that Syr ain't Freya, ain'tcha?" She said, with a languid grin curling across her features. "Don't worry so much, Drake. I understand. You need more poontang." She leaned into me, wrapping one arm around me magnanimously. "So do I! And from what you've said, this Syr chick's a bisexual slut, and she's pretty cute from what I've seen, so get her in the harem! Make her head over heels! Convince her to let me grope her boobs!"

"I feel like you've given me very mixed messages here."

"Nnnguh," she whined, draping herself across me in despair. "Do you have to be so dang boring about this?" She huffed, pulling in her chest and rising up. "Syr isn't Freya. If she is, I forgive you for hitting that crazy ass bitch as long as you quit hittin' it the moment you find out. Is that clear enough for you? Do I need to write it out in a contract for ya?"

"No," I told her. I tilted my head towards her, softly drawing her lips up towards mine and kissing her. She hummed in delight, hands immediately going for my dick.

She was nothing if not predictable.

* * *

Syr smiled pleasantly at Drake Holt, lacing her fingers together in front of her as the pair of them sat at a booth at the Hostess of Fertility. He had that same strange anxiety around her that he'd had every time they'd met. She did wonder what, exactly, about her made him so anxious, and playfully tilted her head to one side. "Are you still scared of little old me, Drake? I promise, I don't bite! Unless you want me to," she said, giving him a playful wink.

"I'm not afraid of you, Syr." She gave him a look, knowing he was lying, pursing her lips expectantly. "It's your familia I worry about."

"Oh, that," she said, with a casual, dismissive wave of her hand. "Pshaw. As far as they're concerned, I'm a nobody! Even Allen didn't know I was a member until I took that head injury!" She clonked herself on the side of her head.

He let out a small laugh at that, but it wasn't quite the right reason why. It wasn't finding it funny, it was the familiarity...? He caught her questioning gaze. "Julia does that too, when she's trying to calm people down," he explained. "Sometimes, anyway."

"Julia?" Her smile was more plastic at this point. Julia was the name of the maggot-soul, after all.

"Black Agony," he explained.

"Oh..." she trailed off, placing her chin on her hand. "I'm really sorry to say this... but I really can't stand her! I know we've never met, but just seeing her - ah! It's so awful! Wouldn't my life be so much easier if she just didn't exist?!" She tugged at her hair playfully. Drake didn't seem amused. "I'm joking, I'm joking! She's nice, I'm sure. I think you know why she's a problem for me." Talking about how much she hated Drake's wife was probably not a good idea for seducing him, so she kicked off one shoe and started to run her toes along his calf.

"Right. Cass mentioned that you wanted to sleep with me?"

She hummed at that, nodding as she did. "You're just so handsome and powerful, I can't resist," she told him, licking her lips as if to emphasize the words. "You look so good! I wish I'd seen you in action at the War Game personally, rather than just on the screen!"

His soul squirmed anxiously at that, as if he really didn't want her to have seen him in action at the war game. His soul was strangely shaped, just like Rei's. There was what should have been a fairly stolid, ordinary soul, maybe a bit workmanlike. The pale grey thing was all sheer angles and sharply defined lines. A clock's soul, though with just a bit of artistic flair, like a pretty clock. Then there was the other thing, jammed into it and twisted around it, a sapphire blue thing that had a quiet, inviting warmth to it. Like a home furnace after a long day's work. She might even have liked to curl up around it, if it didn't belong to this man in particular.

She supposed she'd be curling up around it anyway, though for entirely different reasons.

In any case, he spoke up. "It's probably for the best you didn't," he told her, and she let out a small laugh.

"Why not? I don't remember you doing anything embarrassing! No need to be shy! A man like you, he must love female attention - you're drowning in it already and you still want more!" That was absolutely the wrong thing to say, her seething jealousy driving her to pick and poke at him even though she knew she shouldn't. She was far too emotional at the moment, and she might've missed her misstep if it hadn't been for the way his soul twisted unpleasantly in response to her words. "Ah, sorry, sorry," she said, hurriedly. "I'm the one who asked... I'm really sorry, it's just such a strange situation, you know? I know it's strange for you too. But like my mama always said, If it's crazy, and it works, it's not crazy!"

He let out a laugh at that, apparently liking the turn of phrase she'd invented on the spot. "I know it better as, If it's stupid and it works, it's not stupid." She chuckled back playfully. "What did make you suggest this?"

"I thought to myself... I like Cass. I want to kiss her, hold her, touch her, but she's married and loyal and oh-so-sweet, so I can't do any of those things!" She let out a soft wail, before leaning forward on the table. She did her best to just honestly express her feelings here, since there was everything to gain by doing so. "It's awful. But, if I slept with you, then it wouldn't be cheating if I slept with her, you know?"

"She's straight."

"Mmm. I think you mentioned that before, too," she said, giving Drake a smile that now she actually felt. She was a goddess of beauty, deep down inside - any woman's head would turn her way, if she worked her magic, no matter how 'straight' she was. "But... you don't feel bad about it?" She let her lower lip tremble, giving him puppy dog eyes. "Taking advantage of this poor lovelorn girl's love for another, just to have your wicked way with her?"

"To be honest, when you say it like that, it sounds like you're into it," he told her, making Syr smile. "But you're an adult. You can figure out the consequences of your own actions, I don't have to figure them out for you."

"And what does the man with eight - no, nine now, isn't it?" He nodded, though he didn't have to. "What does the man with nine wives get out of one more beauty riding him as her steed?"

"To be clear, I'm not interested in just casual sex, Syr." Oh like Hell he wasn't. "I'm not saying that it has to be flowers and wedding bells out the gate, but if you're just thinking of this as sex - please say so now, and save us both the trouble."

"Mm? You prefer to add another flower to your collection?" She was letting her annoyance creep in, he was noticing. "Sorry, sorry," she said, shaking her head. "Very well. I will let you woo me as well as screw me," she told him, a playful curl to her lips as she spoke, as if she were proud of her clever wordplay.

He let out a small chuckle at the turn of phrase himself. "Good. I just... I know I have nine wives, but I love every one of them and want them to be happy." She resisted the urge to roll her eyes at his comment. He even believed the absurd lie, because it read as 'true' to her divine senses.

"I guess you've got a lot of love to give," she said, smiling as she ran her foot against his calf again. "Am I gonna get it all over me by the time we're through?" She teased, lacing her fingers together as her foot started to slowly run up, and up, towards his groin. She gently rubbed her toes right against his erect cock, teasing it as she stared him dead in the eyes, and she knew she had the fish on the hook.

Such a simple man, really. But then, who wasn't?

* * *

Syr did have to admit that Drake had quite the appeal, as he smoothly hefted her up and laid her down on bed. She could certainly understand why a girl could fall for him: muscular, tall, kind, juuust that right sort of awkward that it didn't feel as if he was some overconfident cad, but not so awkward that he wasn't willing to just say he wanted to fuck you. If it hadn't been for the fact that he was mistreating her Cassandra, well - she might even regret that he wasn't a member of her familia.

"But I want to be on top?" She teased, as she laid there on the bed. He let out a chuckle at that, then leaned down to kiss her on the lips. She gave him everything she had, effortlessly parrying his tongue in her mouth, sliding her own up along his gums, towards his palate, making him shiver as she slid it along the back of his gums. She flicked her tongue about mercilessly inside his mouth, like a soldier trying to carve up his enemy, and it took hardly any time at all for her to be noisily sucking on his mouth, slurping up his spit, while the man himself was panting into her mouth, losing himself like she was sucking out his soul. Her hands clasped his cheeks as she put the tiniest shred of her divine light and centuries of experience into driving him absolutely mad with pleasure.

Then she broke off the kiss, letting him pant for air, staring up at him with smoldering eyes that teased and threatened. "I think we're overdressed for sex right now, anyway," she said, reaching down for her skirt and idly playing with the hem. "Don't you, Drake?"

His carnal desires were through the roof, and he just grabbed the base of his shirt and yanked, moving like a teen boy trying to get naked after his crush just spread her legs. She couldn't help but grin as she more slowly, smoothly, started to strip herself bare. Without her divine light caged up, she was merely pretty. Beautiful, even. She lacked the raw aspect of the elemental idea of beauty. Perhaps, even, she was objectively less attractive than the man who loomed over her. But his eyes roamed her body regardless, his hand idly stroking his cock, and he spoke up after a moment. "Would you like for Cass to watch?"

Her eyebrow quirked at that, her fingers still hooked into her panties. "Would I like the girl I like... to watch me be utterly despoiled... by her husband?" She asked, a teasing lilt to her voice as she stared up at him. "Would I like that... such a difficult question, Drake..." She hummed as she thought it over, planting one finger on her lower lip.

Of course, the actual answer was 'yes, absolutely,' but you shouldn't make it obvious when you have a fantastic hand. "You don't have to if you don't want to. But she likes to watch, and you like her, so I thought it might be nice." He was such an idiot, he must have honestly believed that her Cassandra was utterly fine with watching him fuck other women! She supposed the sweet girl must have had her dark side somewhere, and it lay in tricking her husband into thinking she was utterly fine sharing him. There was no such thing. Jealousy was love's purest expression, and she did know that her Cassandra, sadly, foolishly, loved this man.

She didn't let that play out across her face, and instead just let out a sigh. "Well, if she likes to watch, then I guess I have no choice? I could hardly do the thing she doesn't like." She smiled innocently up at him, and pulled her panties off the rest of the way. "Ah, I suppose you'll have to go get her... I don't want to waste all that time getting dressed again, so I'll wait here. I can even keep myself ready for you."

"No need, she'll be here in a moment," Drake said, leaning down to kiss her again. She gave him another soul-sucking kiss, enjoying the way his length throbbed and slapped against her pale stomach. Even without her beauty effulgent, she still had it - there was a pleasantness to that, too.

The door opened at that point, completely baffling her as she broke off the kiss to glance that way - there stood Cassandra Cain, her soul as radiant as ever. They weren't even at the Twilight Manor, since she was a member of the Freya familia, and unlike Lena Tally, was not actually married to the cad atop her. Had her agreement been anticipated and assumed? Had her Cassandra been merely lurking around the corner the whole time? Cassandra gave her a small, sweet wave, and there was just this sort of radiant innocence and sweetness that stifled her feelings of annoyance at being outplayed.

Of course, it was much more important that she show her Cassandra what Drake was going to do, so she readily spread her legs. "She's here. Weren't you going to take me once she got here?" She teased, smiling up at him as she held her legs wide. Her slick sex was ready for him, and she watched her Cassandra's soul out of the corner of her eye, trying to get a feel for her responses. She was such an idiot to not have thought of this sooner, and Drake was such an idiot to have so easily provided her so excellent an opportunity. He pushed inside her, and Cassandra just watched curiously as he moved ever deeper within Syr, not a hint of dislike or anger in her soul.

Baffling. Utterly baffling. Was the girl really so pure as to-?

Drake interrupted her thoughts. "Do you want me to make it feel supernaturally good?" He asked her, one hand softly cupping her breast as he spoke.

He was most certainly a man, that was obvious. She resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "Should you make it supernaturally bad instead?" She teased. "Go ahead, Drake. Wow me with your magical sex Skills." His finger slid up towards her sternum, and she caught just the hint of something beyond even her sight, wrapping around his fingertip - then he kissed her again, and she refocused herself on more important things.

Suck on the inside of his mouth. Hold his lips against hers. Play with his tongue. Make his cock throb as he rutted inside her, drive him absolutely mad with lust for a woman that was not his wife. And, more importantly than any of that (which she could do absently, without thought - she was a goddess of beauty and fertility, after all, she knew her way around a cock), watch her Cassandra's responses, feel out what weaknesses lay in her relationship to Drake.

Drake's own lust and desire for her spiked as she kissed him, his hands roughly playing with her breasts as he lost himself to his own desires. Cassandra could see that, of course, her brilliant eyes picking out so much it was absurd. But... she wasn't... angry. She wasn't upset. Not even a little. On the contrary, as Cassandra sat there on a chair, a few feet away from where her naked husband was fucking a girl, she was idly rolling back and forth. No, no, there was a hint of concern there, yes, there was the weakness, she was worried about- about-

About Syr. About the fact that Syr was merely treating the sex like a mechanical act, allowing Drake to rut atop her and play with her body, but treating it like she was merely a dead fish. She wasn't physically acting like that: she was moaning and humming and slurping on Drake's mouth. To any outside observer she might well have been manically in lust with the man. But not to her Cassandra, those keen eyes of hers slipping right through her armor.

That was all Cassandra wanted in the moment, was for Syr to enjoy herself. Her heart practically melted, and she wanted to reach out for her beloved - and there was a squeaking noise, as Cassandra drew her chair close to the bed, close enough that she could clasp Syr's hand in hers, fingers lacing together as she kept up a manic kiss with her beloved's husband. She couldn't help but inwardly smile at that, at the queer sort of way she was cuckolding Drake, the man too focused on kissing her to notice or care about her moment of intimacy with his wife.

Then it hit her, all at once, the pleasure ballooning between her thighs and upon her breasts, as Drake's fingers softly played with them. She let out a squeal of surprise, her hand digging down on Cassandra's own, her eyes flashing wide as she started to simply orgasm. No, calling it an orgasm was too light, it was as if every part of her was on a quiet blissful fire of ecstasy, wherever Drake touched her lighting up in pleasure, as he played with her breasts and pumped inside her sex. Even the soft sheets beneath her naked form, even Cassandra's own hand clasped against hers, where her calloused skin ran against Syr's own soft smooth flesh.

She certainly did come, though. Her body bucked beneath Drake wildly, a low moan escaping her mouth, her eyes peeling back. Any anxiety or concern in her Cassandra's spirit completely vanished in an instant, a simple, happy smile on her lips, utterly in sync with her own soul, the girl freely expressing the emotions she felt as she watched her husband fuck another woman and drive her to the heights of pleasure. Even as her brain felt as if she might white out or drown in the bliss, she kept enough of her senses about her to focus on Cassandra's feelings.

Her Cassandra liked watching, without any inhibitions or worries. Was it a mere fetish? No, it wasn't even a fetish. Cassandra hardly even lusted over what was happening in front of her. Perhaps her husband's body, or something about the act itself, but only mildly, distantly. No, she liked that her husband was happy, rutting away inside of Syr, and she liked that Syr was happy, having her mind blown with pleasure. She was such a sweet, pure, innocent, kind soul, that it did not even occur to her to feel jealous.

The thought of such sincere and brilliant love without jealousy or envy left Freya's mind reeling, and Drake broke off the kiss. Only then did Syr realize her own tongue had become inert and useless in her mouth, as his lips slid down towards her neck, sucking on the bare flesh there, kissing delicately and lovingly as Syr's mind struggled to remain in the moment, amidst the constant bucking and sliding, her fingernails fruitlessly raking across his back, failing to find purchase anywhere at all, thanks to his status as a Level Three.

He kissed his way down to her breasts, all the while continuing to pump into her sex, starting to gently flick and lick at her nipples, before just leaning down to suck on both tits together, pushing them into one another and glancing up at her. Compared to her, he had all the talent of a virgin teenage boy with no self control and no idea of a woman's body - but in the moment, she was coming her brains out anyway, everything he did feeling fantastic. The sex was divine, the sort one would expect from a goddess with her Arcanum unfurled simply for that purpose. She managed to drag her head over to look at Cassandra again, staring at her beloved's lovely lips, parted just the tiniest bit, wishing they'd kiss her.

Cassandra's cheeks lit up at that, and she glanced at Drake, then back at Syr, then gave Syr's hand a squeeze. Ah? Ah? Was it going to happen? Oh, if it happened, then all the investigation wasn't worth one bit. Cassandra leaned into her husband, and whispered in his ear, her voice ever-so-soft, but Syr heard it anyway: "Can I... kiss her?"

He broke his lips off of Syr's bosom, instead leaning over towards Cassandra, one hand grasping her by the back of the head and pulling her into a ferocious, loving kiss. Cassandra let out a soft noise of happiness at that, a tiny squeaky joy, as their tongues danced together inside one another's mouths. Even in the white hot bliss of the sex, even with Drake's hard length seeming to turn her inside out with pleasure - she still would have liked to unfurl her Arcanum in that moment to simply blast the cad away. She wasn't sure if she was offended for her sake or her Cassandra's, but either way, she started to work to squeeze and milk his cock inside her, trying to distract him away from kissing Cassandra. He simply groaned into Cassandra's mouth in response, ejaculating after a few seconds but not even stopping the kiss then, continuing to kiss his wife, whose free hand clasped him by the back of the head to keep him in the kiss throughout the entire act.

When he finally finished coming, she broke her lips off his and smiled sweetly up at him. He gave her the thinnest nod, still catching his breath, his cock still hard inside of Syr's willing sex, and Cassandra leaned down over Syr. Lips pressed against lips, and Syr came, immediately, hard, the magical physical raw pleasure of whatever Skill Drake was using on her bouncing against the pure and simple delight of her first kiss with the woman she loved. It was chaste, sweet, innocent, no tongue or macking or sucking, but she loved it anyway, loved the moment, her hand coming up to run through that dark hair, to softly touch and caress the woman she loved.

Drake hardened inside her at the show, but even with the increased sensitivity of her body in that moment, she hardly even processed it, instead continuing to focus on the kiss with Cassandra. She didn't dare push her tongue into Cassandra's mouth, or start sucking on her lips, but even this chaste, almost virginal kiss, lip against lip, it was more than she could have hoped for, going into this. She let out a noise of blissful pleasure as Drake started to fuck her again, and simply came and came on his cock, letting herself be washed away to the feeling of Cassandra's soft lips against her own.

The kiss was nothing - Cassandra still loved Drake more than her, she still was scarcely interested in her, she would have pulled away if it had gotten more intense - but it was also everything to Syr. If she had been offered sex with Drake, all his Skills and magic put into making her feel ecstasies beyond mortal ken, and another kiss just as tender and sweet and innocent as that one from her beloved Cassandra... she would have chosen the kiss every time.

Of course, in the moment, she did not have to choose, so she got to enjoy both.

* * *

Alipheese quietly stared up at the ceiling, as she laid on her back in the Dungeon, her body utterly naked, her tail occasionally idly flicking out. She was strong, now - very strong. Thanks to Rei and Erza. She wore a feline smile as she contemplated Rei's assistance, and what she had to do for it. She liked the way that Rei turned from bratty and annoying to sweet and friendly the moment her breasts were offered up. It was... fun. She liked teasing Rei like that. She wondered if Rei would ever respond to her teasing by just... taking her. She didn't quite know what taking meant, but she knew she'd like it, whatever it was.

She stretched and yawned. In the Dungeon, there was no sun, and thus, no sense of time, or days passing. She didn't want to get into fights with random adventurers; they'd complain about a powerful golden lamia, and then soon enough there would be more adventurers, and so on until she got inevitably killed by some Level 6 scoundrel.

There was the idle din and clatter of adventurers elsewhere in the tunnels. She just sighed at the sound, bored by it more than anything else. They sometimes approached her little nook, but never approached that closely.

She heard, then, the hurried pitter-patter of footsteps that she recognized - Donner's. She swished to an upright position, concerned for one of her few Xenos friends. Her tongue tasted the air as she did her best to acquire some idea of what she was going into. Several adventurers. No blood had been drawn, but Donner was afraid for his life. No sounds of a spell being cast - so she rushed forward towards the group, sliding out of hiding and moving with the lightning speed that only a monster as strong as her could manage. She grasped Donner in one hand and simply hurled him behind her, hissing loudly at the group of adventurers, raising her arms up threateningly.

This was just going to be a pain in her ass... especially because the red-haired Amazon seemed to consider her actions a challenge rather than a warning, hefting up her large club and grinning at her. She snapped her tail around as the woman closed into range - adventurers vastly underestimated how long a lamia's tail really was, and how much range it provided - and struck her sharply, aiming to send her careening off. Instead, the Amazon grabbed the tail. "A strong one!" She shouted, glee on her lips as she twisted around. "Pretty, too!"

Alipheese's mind ran a mile a minute as she watched the Amazon try to run towards her, holding her tail under her arm. Her compatriots were well away, clearly underleveled relative to the Amazon, and Alipheese did the best she could as a consequence, snapping her tail around, her whole body corkscrewing as she hurriedly worked to tie up the Amazon. "Go away!" She hissed out, making the Amazon hesitate with confusion, giving her just enough time to grab her tight in her tail. She took a moment to breathe, trying to figure out just what to do - but that was too long.

The Amazon was already bursting free, club in hand as she clambered up towards Alipheese. Alipheese's mouth opened to try to bite down on the woman, hoping to at least buy a moment, but she was too slow, and the heavy wood slammed into the back of her head, sending her instantly into a sleep.

* * *

Ilta Farna grinned as she looked down at the defeated lamia. It was a hell of a monster! Golden scales! Big! Tough! It even knew how to talk (a little bit)! Monsterphilia was only a month and change away, and a monster like this was a real prize! She'd been lucky to stumble onto it, chasing that little kobold. "Help me bag it up!" She told her team of supporters, and they moved in with ropes. "Be careful! This girlie's strong as a Level Four!"

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