910 - Girls Girls Girls
Let’s start with the blonde bat-winged slut with the great big butt.
Lex resisted the urge to roll his eyes as he glanced at the girl in question. She was the living definition of “callipygian,” possessed of flanks so enticing that clothing simply couldn’t bear to cover it. Fabric, leather, chains, it didn’t matter; it was as though the universe would not countenance a backside so perfect being hidden from view.
It was the single most ridiculous manifestation of aristeia that Lex had ever seen, and certainly the most wasteful one...but after having repeatedly confirmed that her ass felt as good as it looked, he couldn’t bring himself to condemn it.
That’s Shami-Amoure, former queen of the succubi, emphasis on the former, continued Kara. There are only two interesting things about her. The first is that she claims to have invented the entire concept of backdooring a bitch. The second is that her ex-boyfriend is Demogorgon.
Wait, what?!
I know! She actually expects people to believe that she was the one who came up with the idea that girls might like butt stuff-
Not that! hissed Lex. Demogorgon!
Most of what Lex knew about the Outer Planes came from what he’d read in the Libram of Ineffable Damnation, and while the book’s mysterious author had been perfectly content to skew their knowledge through their own perceptions, the book had still contained a great deal of information on a variety of topics.
One of those had been demons.
Lex had encountered devils, as well as daemons, but demons – the residents of a plane known only as the Abyss – were something else altogether. They had no interest in corruption the way that devils did, nor were they particularly enamored of collecting souls like daemons. Demons were simply interested in destruction. Not just breaking apart objects and killing creatures, demons sought the complete dissolution of everything, from propriety and social order to the very laws of nature. They seemed to take any semblance of stability and order as personal insults, according to the Libram, and treated them accordingly.
Succubi were one of the less destructive types, being focused on weaponizing sexuality. The very shape of their bodies tempted mortals – male and female alike – to abandon any sense of personal restraint, let alone commitments or vows of chaste conduct. But whereas a devil would have used that temptation to get a mortal to damn themselves, succubi were more than happy to couple with an amorous suitor.
That was because succubi drained life force via sex, feeding on it and leaving those who copulated with them a dried-up husk, utterly devoid of positive energy.
Of course, being his own source of positive energy, Lex had little to fear from that, and so had enjoyed the so-called succubus queen – and the reinforcements she’d summoned – at length.
Oh, yeah, I guess that’s impressive too, chuckled Kara. I mean, props where they’re due. Not even the Prince of Demons could take his eyes off of her ass. But that’s mostly because he’s never gotten a look at mine.
Lex didn’t respond, mulling this new revelation over.
That Shami-Amourae was a so-called “succubus queen” meant little. Demons – as intrinsically chaotic and quarrelsome creatures – had no real use for royal titles. They used them, according to the Libram, mostly as a way to declare their own strength. A succubus who declared herself queen of the succubi was saying that she was more powerful than her counterparts, effectively daring them to disagree. And while Shami’s ability to summon reinforcements meant that there were some of her ilk who had fallen under her sway, Lex could only imagine that most others had resented her for being strong enough to assume – and maintain – such a title.
But Demogorgon was something different. He had declared himself to be the prince not of any particular type of demon, but of ALL of them! And if the Libram was believed, he had maintained that title for millennia, surviving countless challengers who possessed power that was literally god-like! In fact, the Libram’s author had made it sound as though several of the demons he’d slain had been actual, fully-fledged gods themselves.
And Lex had just rutted his ex-girlfriend into a coma.
Now, I don’t know exactly why he dumped her, noted Kara, as though she was gossiping about a coworker instead of discussing someone who could conceivably contend for the title of being the mightiest being in existence. I mean, I’ve heard that she cheated on him, or he got tired of her, or he caught her in a plot to overthrow him, the usual demon stuff. But either way, she got her perfect ass dumped in the Wells of Darkness, the Abyss’s prison, and rotted away there for something like a thousand years until just recently, when she managed to wriggle her way out. Don’t ask me how she did it, but now she’s back, and she’s scared to death that Demogorgon’s going to track her down and shove her back in jail or worse...and I bet she’d do anything to convince a big, strapping stallion to protect her now, don’t you think?
The suggestion was absolute lunacy, courting disaster of catastrophic proportions in exchange for nothing more than sex. Incredible sex, to be sure – the kind that would have caused a mortal’s heart to explode after just a few minutes, even if succubi weren’t inimical to life – but still just sex.
And yet...Lex couldn’t help but be aware that Shami would almost assuredly have secrets, treasures, and magic that she’d learned from her time as Demogorgon’s plaything. If the Aesir weren’t satisfied with Solvei taking Kryonex’s place, or if Hell ever learned that he’d slaughtered its minions and broken so many of Prevarius’s infernal contracts, or any number of other disasters happened...what she possessed could be invaluable...
It was almost as tempting as her fat flanks were.
And she’s not the only one with guy problems, which brings us to little bitch number two: look to your right and check out none other than the Queen of Autumn, Penelope La Gard.
The woman in question was easy to identify, having multi-colored hair of red, yellow, and orange that stretched down past her hips, which were currently spread wide and she lay sprawled out in a corner, too dazed to do anything but stare upward. Her defeated expression was in sharp contrast to her warrior’s body, her limbs and torso having lithe muscles that enhanced – rather than diminished – her feminine appeal.
And of course, the deer-like antlers that were growing from her head had served as excellent holds for when he’d put that appeal to good use. Despite the fact that they were apparently a source of power for her – much like a unicorn’s horn – her ability to bring the powers of autumn to bear against him in the form of swirling winds and massive lightning storms had done little to slow him down. Quite the contrary, he’d taken great enjoyment in turning that power back against her via Nenet’s countermagic; a few electrical shocks to the sensitive areas of her body had pacified her very quickly indeed.
Now, I don’t know if you know this, but Penny here absolutely hates being a queen, even though she fought so hard to earn the title. Why, you ask? Because that’s as high as she can climb in the ranks of the Unseelie Court.
Lex frowned. That name had been in the Libram of Ineffable Damnation, but only as a side note, receiving almost no attention from the book’s author except to note that it was one of two confederations of faeries, and that it’s opposite – the Seelie Court – was the more powerful of the two...barely.
You’re saying that she belongs to a faction within the Unseelie?
Oh, it’s a teensy bit more than that, snickered Kara. You see, the strongest group in the Unseelie is the Winter Court, with Autumn being the second-strongest. The Unseelie has a bunch of other associations in it, but those two are by far the most powerful, which is why the Seelie Court is stronger, since they not only have Spring and Summer, but also the eladrin, better known as the empyreal fey. Which is what brings us to the Autumn Queen, here.
Lex resisted the urge to demand more information from Kara, knowing that the overview of how faerie nobility worked were less germane than the circumstances of the girl he’d just plundered.
You see, the Autumn Court faeries are the killers and assassins of the Unseelie. Everything thinks that Winter are the ones who take lives, but that’s wrong; it’s the sharp cold of autumn that reaps life, which is why all of their advancement contests are duels, and always to the death. Penny, here, is the best fighter in their ranks...but as far as she's concerned, the ranks top out at queen. Which is a problem for her, because the leader of Autumn is the Horned King, who as the name suggests, can only be male.
And her ambitions go beyond being a consort?
More like her pride is wounded by the fact that her husband is someone else’s bitch, snickered Kara. I told you, Autumn is second to Winter. That means that the leaders of Winter – their court’s Maiden, Mother, and Crone – are the most powerful faeries in the Unseelie. While the Horned King doesn’t have to obey them, defiance comes with consequences, and the current Horned King doesn’t dare tell them off. The result is that everyone’s making jokes about him having his face between the thighs of Winter’s leaders, and so everyone treats Penny like – as the naughty fillies of today call it – a cucqueen.
Lex hadn’t heard that term before, but it was easy to figure out what it meant. And she wants to relinquish her position?
Got it in one, stud. Penelope here wants more than being a showpiece with no battles left to fight, since faeries can’t change courts. But she can’t just relinquish the role, since that would make her look like a weakling in the eyes of her peers. She can’t even kill her husband either, despite how much his timidity humiliates her, because that’d be treason against Autumn. All she can do is hope that a stronger challenger comes along and fights him for the title...or fights him for her, winning a duel with her as the prize and liberating her from the role she’s now stuck in.
Despite having no ability to read the implications in the words of others, Lex could guess what Kara was implying.
The love goddess, however, seemed to want to make sure the point was driven home. Of course, the Horned King is probably pretty ticked about those rumors too, so I doubt he’ll be too pleased when he hears about someone else rutting his wife-
Those are two, snapped Lex. Hurry up with the other five.
Whatever you say, babe, chucked Kara. Since we were talking about guy problems, let’s take a look at the pale chick across the room. Or should I say “mostly” pale? I have to admit that I like the way how, even though her skin is whiter than snow, she’s got perfectly black eyes, lips, nails, nips, hair, and pu-
That would be Jezebel, cut in Lex, his eyes turning to the beauty in question, knowing her name from having used it in summoning her. What’s her significance?
She had generous proportions, and her batlike wings vaguely resembled those of Shami-Amourae, save for being black rather than red. But while the succubus queen had possessed a long, thin tail with a heart-shaped protrusion at the end, Jezebel’s ended with a stinger, one that contained an aristeia-empowered aphrodisiac which also allowed her to control her victim’s movements as if they were puppets.
Had Lex not been a titan, he knew he would have been in severe trouble from that. While his mortal form, after returning from Darkest Night, had been immune to poison, Hvitdod had shown him that aristeia made that immunity less than absolute.
But things were different now, and Lex had not only been able to effortlessly shrug off her toxin – not that he’d needed to, since her stinger had been wholly incapable of piercing his defenses – but just like with Penelope, he’d turned it back on her, using his powers to make her vulnerable to her own poison.
Then he’d made her use it against the other girls she’d summoned to her side.
Same as the others, huffed Kara, apparently unhappy at having been cut off. Except for her, the guy ruining her life is her daddy, Bel. That’s what her name means, you know; it’s Infernal for “female spawn of Bel.”
A sinking feeling came over Lex then. Bel, as in, the Lord of the First?
Not quite, snickered Kara, seemingly recovered at having the opportunity to correct him. Now he’s the former Lord of the First.
Lex groaned.
“Lord of the First” was another title he knew from the Libram of Ineffable Damnation. It referred to the ruler of the first of the Nine Hells – the “topmost” of its layers – commanding absolute power over the universe-sized realm. The position ranked among the Lords of the Nine, who collectively ruled each of Hell’s realms, with the Lord of the Ninth also being the ruler of Hell in its entirety...apparently the only being in the known multiverse to have total dominion over an entire plane of existence.
While not the original Lord of the First, the Libram noted that Bel had earned his place through martial prowess. With the demons and devils being eternally at war with each other – apparently since the beginning of time, for reasons that no one was entirely clear about – he had risen through the ranks by proving himself to be one of the greatest warlords in existence, single-handedly coming up with strategies and tactics that had put the armies of the Abyss on the defensive. His reward had been even more work, since as Lord of the First he was charged with maintaining the defense of Hell’s metaphorical front door while still performing his duties of taking the fight to the demons.
But the book had mentioned nothing about him having lost his position.
What happened to make him lose his title?
What always happens to soldier types, snorted Kara disdainfully. He eventually lost a fight. I mean, he killed the other guy, but not before taking such serious wounds that he was vulnerable to a coup. Turns out his former boss – a fallen angel named Zariel – was still alive, and just waiting to take her old job back. When Bel turned up barely alive, she swooped in and took his title. Now, he’s gone from commanding armies so large their numbers could only be expressed in exponential notation to having a small force – who’re mostly just in it because they can’t get away, or they’re hoping he regains power and rewards them – and hiding out to avoid being finished off by Zariel. Guess which one Jezzy here is.
Both. Lex couldn’t imagine devils understanding anything of true loyalty, but factionalism and opportunism were other things entirely.
Right again, stud. See, Bel knows war like you know moral grandstanding, and he knew that he needed a femme fatale-type to seduce her way to sensitive information. Which I can totally respect. But just like Penny, Jezzy is tied to her father’s fortunes. Devils are cynical bastards, and even if Jezebel here struck out on her own, no one would believe that she wasn’t on some mission from her sire, and even if they did it wouldn’t matter; Devils are invested in Hell as an institution, but they’re always competing with each other for advancement in the ranks. No one’s going to give her a chance, much less stick their neck out for her.
Unless she can manage something impressive enough that she’ll have to be rewarded for her efforts, finished Lex, recalling Xiriel’s efforts to destroy Equestria. So much death and suffering, and so much more planned...all so it could earn a promotion.
Exactly. She’s been waiting for her big break, and that means reaching out and finding new opportunities, new contacts, and new resources. But most people don’t want to deal with a devil, especially one who’s a hanger-on to a failing power, since no one thinks Zariel’s going to let Bel steal her position a second time. That makes Jezzy VERY eager to seize any opportunity that’ll let her break out on her own.
Is that the story of all seven of these slatterns? Lex swept his gaze across the demiplane then, noting the rest of the ladies he’d summoned. They’re previously or currently in thrall to someone stronger, and want to be liberated?
More like uplifted, mused Kara. I mean, I’m sure they’d all love to be at the top of the heap, but they know they’re not cut out to duke it out with the multiverse’s strongest. If the cosmos is a school, these aren’t the captains of a sports team or the smartest kids in class. They’re the hot girls that get perfect scores on their tests because they have “cram sessions” with their homeroom teachers, and then go out with someone tough enough to keep the simps, brutes, and jealous chicks away. Sex is their specialty, and using it to attach themselves to someone smarter or stronger is how they get by.
Lex couldn’t help but think of the Night Mare’s tenets then. While everyone was encouraged to be strong, her religion also recognized that not everyone could be, and that it was natural for the weak to submit themselves to those who were powerful, receiving protection and strength in exchange for their obedience.
Seeing that same dynamic at work even across interplanar politics proved how right his goddess was.
I mean, it’s not like putting out is all they can do. A begrudging tone entered Kara’s voice then. Penelope is a skilled fighter, even if she’ll never be the best of the best, and has a connection to nature that’s a source of strength in-and-of itself. Jezebel invented the devil equivalent to the succubus – since diabolic forms are deliberately engineered by the Infernal Ministries – which is how she earned her place at her father’s side to begin with. And Shami...
Kara paused then. Actually, screwing really is all she’s good for. But anyone who had Demogorgon up their butt as much as she did has to know some pretty good abyssal secrets, right? Which still makes her better than our next contestant: she’s big, she’s blue, and she was a virgin until you literally tore her chastity belt off, say hello to Almina bat Tamuz of the House of Alrahad, daughter of the shah of the City of Glass!
The woman in question was in the center of the demiplane, lying in a heap under a retinue who had been dressed in a manner vaguely akin to what Lex knew was – thanks to Sonata and Aria’s touring the fashion outlets of Las Pegasus – akin to Saddle Arabian style. But even without the silks and veils and bangles that she’d worn, which had collectively come out to little more than a few scraps of diaphanous cloth, she was still the most beautiful of all the girls in the heap by far.
Every single part of her was a different shade of blue, from the cerulean hue of her skin to the dark azure of her hair to her aquamarine eyes. Just as notable were her proportions; she’d been the second-largest of the girls he’d summoned, towering over him with a monstrous sixteen-foot height, enough to brush the ceiling of the demiplane. Of course, he’d had the spells necessary to reduce her and her allies both – since her handmaidens were of similar size – down to more manageable dimensions. But that had done nothing to reduce how generous her curves were; she might only have been the penultimate in her natural size, but her chest was second to none.
More notable was her power to manipulate fluids of all kinds. While it had no power over him – even if he hadn’t been able to shrug off her attempts to desiccate him, someone who could survive being skeletonized would obviously not so much as flinch at having the blood in their veins dry up – he’d put that to several creative uses after he’d torn her chastity belt off and started breaking her in.
The result was that the blue of her body was now almost totally covered in white.
But at the moment that was less important to Lex than where she’d apparently come from. She’s the daughter of the ruler of the capital of the Elemental Plane of Water?
Eh, its capital status is one of those “de facto” things. I mean, it’s not like that plane has many other cities, you know? But it is the second-largest trading hub on the Elemental Planes, and her father has big plans to try and make it number one. See, the water genies-
Marids, interrupted Lex. It was petty, but he couldn’t resist the urge to correct Kara for once. Her kind call themselves marids.
That particular fact hadn’t come from the Libram. Instead, Lex had liberally read the minds and peered into the futures of each of his conquests. Since their encounter was technically on a hostile basis, he’d made no efforts to restrain himself, he’d focused mostly on what would make them submit to him. Combined with what he’d learned from Kara about how to drive women of all races wild – the shapeshifter goddess hadn’t confined herself to pony forms during their tryst in the mindscape while the Night Mare had made him into a titan – and his own vast array of powers and spells, along with Kara’s second blessing, it had been easy to break them in, allowing him to glean certain other details from each of them as well.
Most of that had been with regard to Adagio, but he’d also picked up basic details as well, such as what each of them were.
Oh, excuse me! Snorting, Kara huffed before continuing. The marids are very concerned about bloodlines, which are all patrilineal. So whoever marries Almina here gets to break her in when he becomes the new shah of the City of Glass. Or as I like to call it, the multiverse’s biggest fishbowl. But you’ve kind of ruined that now – her virginity, I mean, not the fishbowl – which means that she’s going to be cast out since she’s damaged goods now.
Ridiculous. Lex couldn’t help but sneer at that. If that’s a concern, a few spells will erase any evidence of what happened here.
Unless you erase the memories of her entourage, that won’t work; they’re all in service to her father, not her, and they’ll report this as soon as they go back. And even if you repair that chastity belt of hers, that won’t reconstruct the spell auras around it. Or at least, not her father’s, since he’s a titan that’s not what anyone would call “lesser.”
That was enough to make Lex pause, glancing at the twisted shards of metal that were all that was left of the device meant to guard Almina’s virginity. While repairing the metal itself wouldn’t be a problem – it was some sort of colorless, translucent metal that he didn’t recognize – repairing magical auras was something else again. Just like when he’d set off the trap on Xiriel’s scroll, the magic surrounding it was gone.
Repairing that, Lex knew, was almost impossible; the metaphysical structure of the energies it contained was ruptured, and since he’d never learned how to imbue magical channels into non-living objects, it wasn’t something he could easily repair. Perhaps if it had been made by a weaker spellcaster, he could have forced it back together via an empowered reparative spell. But magic from another titan...
Focusing on the immediate future, Lex looked at what would happen if he tried to repair the broken device.
A moment later he cursed bitterly.
Told you. Besides, I’m pretty sure her dad has other ways of making sure his baby girl is staying off the pole. After all, that’s kind of the central part of how he’s trying to marry her off to whoever will give his city the biggest mercantile bump. He really hates it that he’s presiding over the second-biggest metropolis on the elemental planes, especially since the fire genies – oh, pardon me, the efreet – have the top slot.
None of this has anything to do with why she would have given aristeia to Adagio, groused Lex, irritated at himself. Unlike the others, Almina’s situation felt much more like his fault, since he’d gone out of his way to help himself to her body.
Um, hello? Were you not just listening to anything I said? She’s going to be married off to some rich guy, who’s probably old and ugly. You know all those stories about sheltered princesses who want to get out and enjoy life? That’s her. She doesn’t want to be sold off like a piece of property. But if she’s not part of her father’s household anymore – or her husband’s, since letting her be summoned all the time would make him look too weak to inherit the City of Glass – then she’s going to need enough power to prevent herself from being turned into conjuration-bait.
Adagio summoned her, pointed out Lex. And so did I. Being part of her father’s household doesn’t seem to have helped with that.
If you sink enough power into it, almost anyone can be called up out of nowhere. Even gods. But without her daddy’s backing, she’ll be a lot easier to pull in. And make no mistake, she knows that she WILL be summoned all over the place if she doesn’t have his abjuration magics batting all but the strongest such spells away. Genies are kind of famous for granting wishes, you know. And she’s one of the most famous genies, at least to people who’ve done their homework. And now that she’s no longer a sweet little maiden, she’ll need someone else to keep her from an existence of wish-granting servitude. Maybe a handsome, powerful rogue who’s living a life of adventure and really great sex?
...who’s next?
Kara took the time to enjoy a long laugh before moving on.
Girl number five is as sexy as she is scaley. She’s the best there is at tailjobs, has a long tongue that’s completely prehensile, and-, well, you know all that. So let’s turn our attention to the lovely lamia lady, Echidna!
Up until now, all of the women Kara had pointed out had been just that: women. Females whose body shapes were humanoid in nature. But the next one was tauric, having a humanoid upper half and the lower body of a serpent.
Her humanoid torso had swarthy skin, and her hair was almost as black as Jezebel’s, but much wavier, spilling out behind her like a cloak. Unlike the others, she’d shown up completely naked, decorated only by the piercings that she’d worn, each of them magically imbued. Her serpentine half, by contrast, had only natural decorations, the scales forming a repeating pattern that looked suggestively yonic in design.
Of course, Lex had seen that only after he’d subdued her, since the lamia had changed through a dizzying array of forms.
Unlike how he knew changelings and doppelgangers operated, Echidna’s shapeshifting power had seemed almost without limit, and even without his mystical senses Lex would have recognized aristeia at work. She’s almost been a blur, changing from humanoid shapes to that of various animals and chitinous creatures, elemental beings that he hadn’t recognized, and even more bizarre shapes. Only the markings on her tail had been constant, appearing in each form that she took.
Of course, his own familiarity with shapechanging enemies meant that Lex had long since developed magic designed to lock them into a single shape. Once he’d done that, Echidna had panicked, and it hadn’t taken him much longer to properly put her in her place. Even better, he’d been able to ease up on the restrictive spell somewhat, experimenting with how many pleasing shapes he could put her in.
It had been particularly satisfying, since when Kara had done the same thing he’d been absolutely unable to make her submit to him. For all that the goddess had squealed and thrashed and squeezed him, there’d never been any indication that he was overpowering her. Instead, she’d simply smirk or giggle or bat her eyes at him afterward and then critique his performance, daring him to put her lessons to immediate use until she’d declared it satisfactory, at which point she’d shifted to another shape and started over again.
Worse, there’d been no satisfaction for him at the end of the encounter, leaving him thoroughly frustrated in more ways than one.
The result was that, out of all the individuals that he’d summoned, he’d gone at Echidna with a savageness that he hadn’t shown the others.
Now, I should clarify that this little copycat likes to CALL herself Echidna, but she’s really not. Which is kind of appropriate since her shapeshifting technique is so sloppy, having stolen that ability the same way she stole her name. And it’s not like she purloined her polymorphing from anyone credible, either!
I don’t care, interrupted Lex. What-
She got it when she was squatting in some old church to a goddess named Aine, finding the sacred texts there and translating just enough to teach herself how to copy the body-alteration techniques it outlined. Which was really stupid because Aine, the goddess in question, is dead! The Tuatha killed her when they wiped out her pantheon! Seriously, what kind of shapeshifting goddess can’t just put on a disguise and escape when things go bad?! The answer is a really crummy one, that’s what! At least Adagio knew to steal from the best! She-
KARA!
Ugh, fine. But she really is lousy at shapeshifting. She can barely displace the weight that she shrugs off whenever she changes to a lighter form. That’s why her scales can barely cover her fat ass. Anyway, what was I talking about?
Her name.
Right. Anyway, she’s actually the third Echidna. I don’t know what her original name was – I think she’s made herself forget it so it can’t be used against her, which is more superstition than anything else – but the first Echidna was an actual goddess, and after she thought she and her demigod children could go up against the Olympians, she got them all killed and ended up shoved into the same Wells of Darkness that Shami broke out of. Unlike her, Echidna I is still down there.
And the second?
Eh, she was some petty demon lord. Probably got the idea from the fact that the Wells are in the Abyss, since she was supposed to be able to give birth to unusually strong demonic offspring. Come to think of it, she might have hung out at her predecessor’s prison and gleaned a few secrets from her. Which is smart, but taking her name was dumb. She probably thought it would boost her reputation, but all it did was earn her most of the original Echidna’s enemies. Last I heard, she threw in with Samael for protection, and he still has her chained to his bed, using her as breeding stock.
Lex waited for the connection between them and the current Echidna to become clear. It was obvious by now that Kara enjoyed being able to show how much she knew about the girls he’d summoned...and he was starting to develop an idea as to why.
That Kara had wanted the person who’d so thoroughly dominated so many other cosmic beauties to subsequently build her a temple and perform rites in her honor was exactly the sort of pettiness that Lex had come to expect from her.
She might have been a goddess, but as far as he was concerned, Kara’s school analogy had perfectly summarized her outlook on life.
Anyway, long story short, Echidna III is Echidna II’s daughter. Or maybe granddaughter? Samael’s an incubus lord, so it’s not like he cares too much if his conquests are his descended from him. In fact, that’s probably a turn-on for him.
Lex couldn’t keep himself from grimacing in disgust. And she wants protection from him?
What, from Samael? I doubt it. He’s not the type to obsess over someone. He’s firmly of the belief that all girls are just collections of parts, and one’s the same as another, which as a shapechanger goddess is pretty offensive, let me tell you.
It’s offensive to everyone, noted Lex flatly. And if this Echidna doesn’t want protection from that Samael creature, what does she want?
Immortality.
If she’s already a titan, even a lesser one-
Then she’ll never die of natural causes, repeated Kara. But she can still die, and she’s absolutely terrified of that. See, the Olympian gods are fed up with bitches dredging up that name, and so they’ve vowed that anyone who takes it can share the fate of the original. So when Ecky III here dies, her soul is going to be snatched up by angry messengers of that pantheon and shoved into the same Well that Ecky I is in...and since one’s a genuine goddess and the other’s very much not, guess who the prison bitch will be?
Lex ignored the question, instead looking to confirm something else. And she can’t dedicate her soul to another god because no one will have her?
Exactly. No one’s going to tick off one of the multiverse’s largest pantheons for one chick. So all she can do is try and cling to life while looking for ways to make sure she never dies. And since you’re a much more powerful titan whose got what she wants and prefers to smash her rather than smash her head in, I’m guessing she’ll take a liking to you. And hey, at least she’s got that whole mad fertility thing going on, if turning bitches into mothers is your kink.
Lex scoffed, but couldn’t help but look at the girls scattered around Echidna. Whereas the others had summoned creatures akin to themselves – Shami had called forth succubi, Almina other marids, Jezebel had those “pleasure devils” Kara had mentioned, and even Penelope had summoned nymphs and dryads – Echidna’s reinforcements had been numerous different types of creatures. One was tauric, but her lower half was that of a lion rather than a snake. Another had been a quadrupedal tigress who had covered herself in flames. A third was entirely humanoid in shape, but had avian legs and feathers from her arms. And those were just a few of them.
It was clear which of Adagio’s creditors had given her the unusual fertility.
And the last two? he prompted, making a note to interrogate Echidna again shortly.
Second-to-last, but not least, is our own draconic dominatrix, Bida! I gotta admit, I really loved watching you put her in her place, since she likes to brag that there’s no one she can’t top. Guess the streak’s at an end.
Lex gave a noncommittal grunt to that, looking at the largest of the girls he’d summoned.
Bida was a full-sized dragon, and had taken up almost half of the demiplane on her own. Fortunately, she’d elected to reduce her own size, saving Lex the effort, since the cramped confines had made it almost impossible for her to move, let alone fight.
And she had put up quite the fight. Even Penelope, despite her warrior background, hadn’t fought as hard as Bida had. The dragoness’s attacks had rocked the demiplane, and if Lex hadn’t taken specific precautions to reinforce its structure, he felt sure she would have managed to rupture it.
Not that she’d had any interest in escaping; Bida had made it very clear that for her, combat was a prelude to sex, and had made no secret of what she intended to do to him for daring to summon her. Given that her body was unlike the other dragons he’d met – having sensuous curves, scales that were warm and supple to the touch, and a set of full and firm breasts despite being reptilian – Lex hadn’t doubted that she was a very different creature from Hvitdod or that green dragon he’d fought outside of Tall Tale.
But what had driven that home was her breath weapon. It hadn’t been acid, and it hadn’t been ice; instead, it had been a combination of aphrodisiac – like an aerosolized version of Jezebel’s poison, albeit less concentrated due to spreading through the air – which somehow had also caused clothes to come undone. Clasps had unlatched, buttons had fallen open, seams had frayed, and every other article of clothing, save only for Almina’s chastity belt and Echidna’s piercings, had fallen to the floor as soon as the gas had touched it.
That, at least, had an effect on Lex. While he could manipulate the items on his person with the same ease as he could his body, they were still just a mixture of mundane articles and low-level magic items, and had slid right off of him. Not that he’d cared, since he’d grown up in a land where clothing had long been considered optional anyway.
If anything, Bida’s attack had been a boon to him, since it had been the single most decisive factor in turning what had been a battle royale into an orgy. While no one had immediately succumbed to her lust-inducing mist, it had – along with the sudden nakedness, and the others’ inherently carnal natures – quickly sent things down a licentious path, much to Lex’s gratification.
But even so, he couldn’t overlook the fact that Bida had dared to assert that she’d be the one to claim him, rather than the other way around. By way of punishment, she’d spent almost her entire time in the demiplane wrapped up too tightly to move, ultra-dense black crystals keeping her immobilized while he alternated between long bouts of keeping her on edge and using her harshly. It hadn’t taken very long before the grunting and cursing behind her gag had become moaning and pleading, the would-be conqueror conquered.
And who is she trying to escape from? asked Lex, doubting that her story would be any different from the rest.
That would be Tiamat, confirmed Kara without hesitation. Goddess of evil dragons and also her mother.
That was enough to make Lex pause. Her mother is a goddess, and yet she’s only a lesser titan?
Yeah, about that, the children of the gods aren’t always gods themselves. In fact, most of the time they aren’t. That’s because gods have to imbue their kids with divinity, and as you're aware, that has to actually come from somewhere. How many gods do you think are willing to weaken themselves like that for their children? Also, Tiamat’s bred several different draconic bloodlines into existence, so it’s not like having mortal children is anything new to her anyway.
And she wants Bida dead? Or captured?
Oh, neither, answered Kara flippantly. No, see, her mother wants her little girl to become a goddess. Bida just doesn’t want to.
That was enough to leave Lex momentarily stunned. She doesn’t want to be a goddess?
I know. She’s smarter than she looks. Most people jump on divinity when it’s offered, regardless of the consequences, but Bida knew that her mother’s offer wasn’t out of the goodness of her heart.
Lex paused to digest that. You said that gods can imbue their own children with divinity. But Tiamat didn’t do that with Bida, otherwise she’d have been born a goddess. Which means...
...that her mother wants to sponsor her to demigodhood, but not just give it to her, since Tiamat hates sharing power, confirmed Kara. And that last part is why Bida is saying no, since she’s absolutely certain that once she ascends, she’d be killed and absorbed to increase her mother’s power. Plus, then Tiamat would get a bunch of new worshipers, too. Win-win for her, lose-lose for her baby girl.
So she cut a deal with Adagio because she wanted more aristeia in order to fight off her mother’s influence?
Basically. She wants aristeia, but not divinity. She inherited her mother’s lustful nature, but doesn’t have her ambition. She’s happy to treat her lovers the way most dragons treat their hoards, and I’m guessing you and your family jewels were going to be the centerpiece of her collection. Which is why Tiamat wants her, since unlike all of her brothers and sisters, Bida is an actual lust dragon; the only one of her kind, which makes her the perfect object of worship for the rest of her kind. Dragons be horny, as they say.
Thankfully, that didn’t match with Lex’s experience, but looking at the rest of Bida’s retinue, he could believe it. While not as diverse as Echidna’s, Bida had summoned a group of creatures that could only be called half-dragons, having the scales, wings, and claws of their mother, but were mostly humanoid in nature...although the type of humanoid varied wildly. One had pitch-black skin and pointed ears, while another was short and fully reptilian, albeit also with prominent mammary glands.
Which brings us to the last little morsel on your personal menu...
Lex’s eyes narrowed then, feeling a rush of aggression as he turned to look at the female in question.
The last of the summons had also been the most unexpected.
Agrat, announced Kara. Reformed demoness, now the Archangel of Prostitution.
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Oh dear. things have definitely got a lot tougher for Lex. Its bad enough he now has to deal with the Vain 7 in enforcing pecking order and cooperation through giving and witholding rewards, but now he got Ma Baker getting the bus, loading all teh mad dads on it and handing out hunting gear, heading for Lexs place to, have a quiet word bout their girls?
He really needs to get more work on magical items. Using the Alchemist Infusion trick of Spell Level 1 or 0 for Break/Mend into breath weapon is totally brutal. Maybe a second Infusion of Rope Trick for laces etc?
The backgrounds behind the lesser titans and their retinue Lex had subjugated are rather surreal at how varied they are and how some of them revolve around debauchery. Lex is more than likely to be on point with his thoughts of Kara using them to help set up her own following in Equestria.
Regardless, while gaining connections through the lesser titans might be handy, I do have to wonder if it will be worth the trouble given how problematic their connections are for some of them. And not to mention if they'll truly follow Lex. As desperate they may be, Lex often ends up in a lot of trouble though I suppose it would probably be seen as minor bumps for them so long as Lex can keep them sheltered...if he chooses to do so.
11810991 Lex has certainly managed to insert himself into quite the set of tangled nets! Of course, great risks tend to bring great rewards, and he wasn't wrong in noting that there might be advantages to be had if he can manage his new...associates? As it doesn't seem like he can use the Charismata on any of them (mostly by way of it not being mentioned, since if he had been able to use the Night Mare's power to subdue them, it seems likely that he would have), he certainly can't make them new "wives" the way he did Mei Li. Which might be for the best, considering the baggage they all seem to have...perhaps he'll treat them as contacts with benefits?
For what it's worth, that attack "working" on Lex was my trying not to put too fine a point on it, i.e. it worked only because he didn't bother to defeat it. Recall this line, from back in Chapter 905:
That was meant to preemptively establish that he's not really vulnerable to Bida's breath weapon. He just wanted everyone to be naked.
11811070 Kara does seem to be delighting in this, doesn't she? Of course, she knew this was going to happen ahead of time (and told the Sun Queen as much) and so in that sense, her arranging for Lex to participate in rites holy to her is her way of saying that she's above those other girls. Of course, given that she's a fully-fledged goddess and they're all lesser titans, that should go without saying, but it strikes me as being entirely within Kara's nature to want to drive that point home. Even as far back as Chapter 615, we've seen her act catty and spiteful when someone else participates in the area that her godly portfolio governs (i.e. she was being really bitchy about Dark Streak's disguise magic), so this is really her being true to herself.
As for Lex's "relationship" with those lesser titans...it remains to be seen if he'll even bother with them from now on, although given that the last one is an archangel, it seems probable that he'll want to maintain some sort of working relationship with at least some of them, given that Mihr is currently resolved to keep him exiled from Equestria. Which of them he works with, to what degree, what he gets out of it, and if it justifies the risk, however, are all unknowns at this point.
Lex is really going around isn't he. Each of these lesser titans could probably be the heroine of their own stories but to Lex they are just the side piece of his own tale.
I did comment on the Past on how this is basically just Xianxia but color me surprised, the vixen just crashed the genre with how Lex is pure Yang. I can see it.
11812168 I have to commend you on the acumen of your statement, here. One of the things that I wanted to emphasize in this chapter is that, when you start dealing with higher-level characters (as each of these seven are), they come with their own backgrounds which, due to them being larger-than-life figures, have outsized potential on their own. While I'm very much of the belief that supporting cast members should have more to them than their relationship with the story's central figure, the fact of the matter is that when someone is a more powerful figure, they suck other characters into their orbit. Whether or not they like it, being around someone stronger than them makes them part of that person's story, and not the other way around (Nosey said as much when she dumped Lex). As such, when Lex draws in particularly powerful individuals, they have their own set of relationships that become (for lack of a better word) baggage.
Of course, how much that impacts Lex depends on how close he keeps these girls. If he wants them to stay by his side, that's likely to have an extreme effect on things, because each of them (as you noted) are major figures in their own right. If he keeps them at a distance, he may be able to ameliorate the complications they bring...at least somewhat.
As for this being a xianxia story, well, guilty as charged there. The fact that Mei Li is openly referring to Lex with that term kind of makes that hard to deny.
As for Lex being all yang though...I think that's a perfect way to sum his personality up.