Loen Kingdom, Backlund, Empress Borough, De Sade Manor
-Abel De Sade-
Abel's hips slammed into Roberta from behind, the wet slap of flesh echoing through the sunlit bedroom. Her maid uniform lay tossed aside, hiding nothing now. The pale sway of her bubble butt that the uniform had always concealed was now in full view. Each thrust made it ripple, shaking with every impact, a sight Abel couldn't tear his eyes from.
His hand tangled in her dark pigtails, yanking her head back with each stroke, dragging strangled moans out of her throat.
"Y-Young Master—ahn~" she gasped, her voice breaking and the Dutanese accent making itself known. Sweat slid down Abel's back as he leaned forward, chest pressing to hers, his thrusts hitting deeper, rougher.
Abel leaned towards her ear, commanding, "Say my name, Roberta. Not 'Young Master.'"
Her fingers tightly clutched the bedsheets as he pistoned in and out. "A-Abel—Nghhh!" Roberta's prim composure shattered with every cry, her hips rocking back to meet his thrusts, ass clapping against his hips.
Abel's grin was feral, a thumb grinding circles hard against her swollen clit, forcing another scream from her lips. "G-Goddess…"
Her walls clenched violently around him. "A-Abel—! C-cumming… ahhh!" Her body arched, voice breaking into a guttural moan as her orgasm ripped through her, pussy clamping down with a series of spasms that milked him mercilessly. She shook, whimpering his name again and again.
Abel growled, dragging her back onto him with both hands clamped around her waist. "Take it," he commanded, pounding her through the aftershocks, his hips hammering into her until the sound of flesh meeting flesh became a brutal drumbeat. Her ass rippled wildly with each impact, bouncing against him, wet squelches filling the air alongside her broken moans.
Roberta's body convulsed around him, clenching so hard he could barely hold back. Abel's teeth grit as he pulled her down hard, burying himself to the hilt. A guttural groan ripped from his chest as he emptied into her, thick ropes of heat flooding her spasming cunt. He held her there, pressed tight, cock twitching deep as he filled her.
"Mnn~" A low moan left her throat.
The room stank of sex and sweat, their panting the only sound left.
Roberta collapsed forward onto her arms, trembling, her flushed face buried in the sheets. Abel stayed buried inside, breathing deeply against her back, before finally pulling free with a wet sound. His release leaked down her pale thighs, dripping onto the sheets beneath her.
The Monster's eyes drifted down to himself, a sigh escaping his lips as he saw his cock standing proud. "I know I wished to keep up with Dominique, but this seems to be getting out of hand…"
Did The One on the Moon hold a grudge for failing to give him Her full Honorific Name, or for him being immune to Her corruption?
Abel didn't think so. As he speculated when he popped a boner before Earth Mother, it was likely his Other Self and Jump-chan, simply spicing up their entertainment. Clearly, they were having the time of their lives, making the Gods of this world view him—The Summoner—as some sort of savior.
"When the veil between worlds grows thin,
The Summoner shall awaken and tread the Myriad Realms,
Beasts of memory and myth shall rise at His call,
And all that is Named shall answer."
Quoted and prophesied by the Ancient Sun God, also known as the Omnipotent and Omniscient God, the Lord who Created everything, in the Third Epoch.
And wasn't that some shocking news Hilarion had dropped on him? Either his patrons had waited thousands of years after ensuring the prophecy was seen, only to throw him here, or they had made some retroactive changes upon bringing him here. He leaned toward the latter. As for the Ancient Sun God, Abel didn't think much of Him beyond His former status as God Almighty. He was currently irrelevant, and it was best to leave ObsessionWhispers to scrounge up connections as he came across more information.
A groan slipped from Abel's lips as a wet, steady suction yanked him from his thoughts. His golden eyes fell on Roberta, now kneeling before him, her lips wrapped snugly around his cock.
She didn't falter when their gazes met, only deepened the suction, tongue swirling along the underside.
A sigh of pleasure escaped his lips as he said, "Roberta, have I told you how much I adore you?"
The Maid paused, her lips leaving his cock briefly as she answered, "Numerous times, Young Master."
Abel smirked slightly. "And with many more to come."
Roberta's eyes widened briefly, the flush on her face from their previous entanglement returning, and she dragged her gaze away from his eyes to focus on his member.
A soft chuckle left the white-haired young man's lips, "How cute."
"The Summoner of Myriad Realms; The Shepherd of All Creatures, The Keeper of True Names, The Anchor of Worlds; The One who Summons through Eternity."
Hearing his Honorific Name echo in his mind, Abel was not startled. A faint smile curved his lips as his vision shifted. In the next instant, he found himself in a familiar, opulent bedroom. Atop a queen-sized bed sat his sister, Dominique.
Nine balls of light appeared in the Monster's mind's eye, coalescing with intent. With a force of will, they surged into existence, flowing directly into Dominique.
….
Loen Kingdom, Backlund, Empress Borough, De Sade Manor
-Dominique De Sade-
Sitting on her bed with her hands clasped together, Dominique thought back to the warning Abel gave her three days ago, on Wednesday morning, in the carriage as they made their way to the Harvest Church.
The dream about smog in East Borough being nothing more than a prelude to what was coming. The curtain rising.
Something big was going to happen in Backlund, in the coming weeks, months, or years.
When the God you've worshipped, believed in, and prayed to since childhood gives you a revelation, you know—put crudely, as the commoners would say—shit's about to go down. More so when your Goddess tells you outright that They have a hidden existence as an ally, and that you are to recite Their Honorific Name daily for protection.
A strange request, or an order, she wasn't sure. Yet Dominique could put two and two together. This came the very same day Abel became Earth Mother's Blessed, and so the revelation must be tied to him. Even if she couldn't understand a god's thought process, this was clearly a way to shield her from whatever danger was approaching.
The strangest, most unnerving part, though, was the hidden ally in question.
The Summoner.
"Was it a coincidence?" Dominique murmured to herself. The existence she had first learned about at Mr. A's Gathering on Tuesday night. The same day Abel became a Beyonder. Then, on Wednesday, he became a Blessed of Earth Mother. And on that same night, Dominique received a revelation from Earth Mother about The Summoner.
The Vampiress felt in her bones these were connected, threads woven together in ways she could not yet see, but each time she reached for them, they slipped away, just beyond her grasp, like a lifeline dancing at the edge of her fingers.
She shook her head, halting her thoughts before they strayed any further. It was dangerous to try to comprehend the designs of a God.
And then, suddenly, her vision shifted.
Before her appeared the familiar humanoid form, cloaked entirely in shifting, inky shadow, every inch of him hidden but for his eyes, those crimson orbs that shone the same as when she used her vampiric powers or drank blood.
It wasn't her first time seeing Him, yet Dominique couldn't suppress the shudder that ran down her spine. She stayed silent, watching as nine orbs of light coalesced before His fingertip, only to be flicked lightly in her direction.
Like before, the names of the boons imprinted themselves into her mind.
Calm & Collected. Grounded. Comprehension. Protected Soul. Outer Reaches. Friend of the Strange. Sixth Sense. Making Connections. Strange Minded. Chosen One.
Unlike her Beyonder abilities, these gifts didn't come with instinctive understanding. They were passive, subtle things. She had to interpret them, glean what she could.
Calm & Collected was obvious enough. The instant it settled within her, Dominique felt the tension drain away. Her face became placid, her emotions steady, as if nothing could ruffle her composure before a hidden existence.
Grounded. She had heard of Grounded Angels before, those who walked the earth instead of their God's divine kingdom. So perhaps this boon meant to be firmly planted, level-headed. Not the same as Calm & Collected, otherwise she wouldn't have been granted both.
Comprehension. Here her certainty faltered. At first, she thought it might sharpen her learning or her understanding, but it didn't feel so direct. Its purpose remained elusive.
Protected Soul spoke for itself, though its full extent was beyond her grasp.
Outer Reaches was too vague and abstract to pin down. Perhaps something tied to the Spirit World.
Friend of the Strange she thought might be like an advanced version of her Beast Tamer sequence abilities, a boon that would let her form bonds with Beyonder and Spirit World creatures.
Sixth Sense revealed itself the clearest. A perfect radar, highlighting Beyonders and anything touched by mysticism. Dominique's eyes were opened to how many Beyonder's made Backlund their home the past two days.
The remaining three—Making Connections, Strange Minded, and Chosen One—were harder to place. Making Connections might have seemed like something belonging to a Reader Pathway, tied to deductions and logic, but it didn't feel that way. So, she set it aside with Chosen One, categorizing both under fate. As for Strange Minded, perhaps it was some form of mental safeguard, a way to keep her thoughts from Spectator pathway Beyonders.
[Dominique.]
Her entire body stiffened at hearing her name spoken. She was suddenly reminded that one of His titles was 'Keeper of True Names'.
The Summoner's voice, flat and eerily neutral, spoke directly into her mind.
[You can tell Abel of my existence.]
And just like that, her vision shifted back. The shadowed figure vanished, replaced by her familiar bedroom once more.
Dominique sat in silence, and for the nth time she had to remind herself that The Summoner can't be evil if He's allied with Earth Mother.
Then, the same thoughts rose within her as when she first received the revelation from Earth Mother.
Should she tell Abel about The Summoner? What role did Abel truly play in all of this?
…
Loen Kingdom, Backlund, Rose Street, Harvest Church
-Xio Derecha-
Standing at the edge of the walkway to the Harvest Church, the former Arbiter now Sheriff cast her gaze over the modest building. Compared to the grand Saint Samuel Cathedral of the Church of Evernight, it was plain, almost unassuming.
Xio didn't linger long. The drizzle that had clung to her coat all the way here thickened into a steady rain, urging her forward. Once inside, she habitually scanned her surroundings, taking note of the wooden pews and candles lining both sides of the hall.
Her eyes then fell on the only three figures in the prayer hall, and her lips twitched despite herself. Two of them were doing something that looked utterly out of place in a church.
To the side of the hall, the black-haired man in his late twenties, clad in the Harvest Church's plain cassock, passed along a suitcase. Abel, seated casually across from him, slid over a thick envelope in return.
The smoothness of the exchange made her briefly wonder if this wasn't the first time.
It was a familiar scene, one Xio had witnessed more than once back in East Borough. A drug deal, a weapons trade, the motions were all the same.
The blonde's gaze flicked briefly to the bishop at the front, seated in one of the pews with his head bowed in prayer. His burly frame strained against the loose robe, and deep lines marked his face, yet his expression was serene. He seemed unbothered by the shady deal happening on the other side.
Xio's eyes drifted back to the priest with Abel, her instincts immediately alert to something unusual about him, something that set him apart from ordinary people.
But after a moment, she realised that the abnormality that she was sensing might be him being a Beyonder like other Church's Beyonders.
Her green eyes then met Abel's, who seemed to have concluded his business, if the way the crimson-eyed priest hastily tucked the envelope into his robes was any indication.
"Lord Abel." She greeted respectfully as she approached.
"Xio," the white-haired young nobleman replied, his eyes flicking briefly to her soaked jacket before returning to her face. "Backlund's weather seems to be treating you as fairly as it treats everyone else."
The sheriff's lips curved into a wry smile. "It wouldn't be Backlund if it wasn't."
Abel chuckled softly, and Xio felt a pang of envy at how effortlessly relaxed he appeared, while she herself was still struggling to piece together the truth behind the incident that had led to her father's accusation of rebellion, execution, and the family's consequent loss of fiefdom and titles.
"Is something wrong, Xio?" The young man's voice pulled her from her thoughts.
She shook her head, letting out a faint sigh, "I was thinking about the recent news in East Borough…"
Abel raised an eyebrow, curiosity sparking in those gold eyes of his. "Did you find anything unusual regarding what I asked about?"
Xio appreciated that he didn't pry into her momentary lapse of thought, and with a nod she replied, "Even without taking some of my informants' words into account, I've noticed more and more people preaching about the 'Creator.' Preachers speak of how He will open His Divine Kingdom and end all their suffering. Some of my informants mentioned that neighbors who once followed the Evernight Goddess have converted to the Creator and even started spreading His teachings."
The Monster's frown deepened as he absorbed her words. "And the Demoness? Did you see anyone matching the description of an impossibly beautiful woman?"
Xio shook her head, "No…" then paused briefly.
"Did you remember something?" Abel pressed.
The Sheriff nodded slowly, eyes narrowing in thought. "Yes. But I don't think it's directly related. Over the past couple of days, several smaller gangs in East Borough were taken over by a single woman."
Abel straightened at her words, "A Beyonder? What's her name?"
"Elizabeth Hannibal."
Xio saw the young nobleman freeze slightly at the name. "Have you heard of her, Lord Abel?"
The Monster's expression shifted, a small chuckle escaping him. "If it's just the name Elizabeth, I remember a daughter of a Marquis being called that. But I don't think it's her." He shook his head, amusement flickering in his eyes. The thought of a noble's daughter fighting gangs at night struck him as absurd, and honestly, Xio could understand why.
"What do you think about going on a lunch date? My treat."
The words hit Xio like a bucket of cold water. For a moment, she froze, caught flat-footed.
Then the word 'date' registered in her mind, and her cheeks flamed crimson as she recalled the kiss Abel had pressed to her hand days ago. She tried to tamp down the rising heat of embarrassment, but the faint, amused smile on Abel's face made it clear she had failed spectacularly.
Still, she drew in a steadying breath, calling upon her inner Arbiter aura. She straightened her back and gave a measured nod. "Sure."
A chuckle left Abel's lips.
And Xio suddenly felt an overwhelming urge to dig a hole and disappear entirely.
++++
A/N: The muse finally released the chokehold it had me in and threw me a bone. A bone with juicy meat of the first 400 words or so was anything to go by.