A child's strained scream echoed through the pristine white halls that were decorated with yellow banners, bearing the symbol of the Celestine Nation. Maids and butlers alike ignore the cry for help, going about their own business and routines.
A whip cracked. And a boy with ginger hair fell to the ground, bloodied and scarred on his bare back. His breathing became shallow as he tried to recover from the pain. As he glanced back at his tormentors with his dazed eyes, his tunic was tossed atop him carelessly.
"Put that back on you, filthy wretch!"
The floorboards squeak, marking the departure of a mother and daughter.
"Thanks, Mom! That was a lot of fun. Can we do it again tomorrow?"
"No. Emilia." The mother scolded. "We will only punish him when he steps out of line."
"Awww."
The boy peeked from under his clothes and watched as the woman pinched the cheeks of her daughter.
"Ow! Ow! OW!"
"I don't want to hear a complaint out of you! We've had our fun, and there will be other times."
"O…Okay…"
As the two turned to the door, a ginger-haired man dressed in noble attire stepped in. The mother glared at him.
"F…Father?" the boy whimpered weakly.
The mother shot a glare back at the boy and turned just as quickly back to the man. "Fix that Filthy son of yours, Rodrick!"
The mother stormed past the father, pulling her daughter by the hand, and leaving just the boy and his father. He clutched his hands.
The father's eyes were unreadable as he muttered his question directed at his son. "What did you do?"
Tears welled in the boy's eyes. "I-"
"What did you do, Donovan!!"
Donovan flinched. "I…I pushed her father… she made fun of you and mom, and I-"
"So you pushed her!!" The father yanked Donovan's hair and pinned him to the floor. "How many times do I have to tell you! She's the daughter of the Lord Kaiser's advisor! If she leaves, they will destroy everything I've built! And I will not become some peasant in the slums again!"
The fathers pinned Donovan down harder, his eyes even more crazed. "So be a good boy and listen! Do you hear me!? Whatever they want! You will give it to them!!"
As confused as Donovan was, he nodded tearfully. "Y-y-y-yes father… Please… I-I'll listen… P-please."
Slowly, the father stood back up, fixed his appearance, and distanced himself from Donovan, who continued to tremble.
"Your mother taught you bet- I taught you better than this." The father's face twitched as he fixed his hair. "I taught you to be a gentleman. You will be a gentleman."
THE father glances back at Donovan. "Go on. Clean yourself up and get ready for dinner. We have important guests that are coming over tonight. The last thing we need is a son of mine to look unsightly in front of your mother's father."
With those last words, the father also departed, closing the door behind and leaving Donovan alone. He sniffled and cried, trying his best to calm down. "W-why? W-hy father? W-why does it have to be like this?"
Donovan's mind slowly drifted off, and everything fell dark.
********
"Aarrrgghhh!" Donovan winced, regaining consciousness as searing pain surged in his chest. Glancing around, he noticed that crates and boxes of empty and filled bottles surrounded him.
He moved his back, only to discover a new world of pain that had him screaming out. Memories returned at what had transpired just moments ago, bringing an overwhelming sense of shame. "Crap! I let my guard down!"
Donovan glanced around again. Not finding anything useful, he recalled taking a strange, green vial that Kalika had given him. He quickly turned his gaze to the pouch on his waist and carefully searched it. Not long after, he pulled a small green vial. "H-hopefully what she said about this is true."
Suddenly, The Succubus, Charla, came into his hazy view, slowly approaching him.
He froze, panic slowly rising within him. He glanced from the vial in his hand to the succubus, Charla. Who was slowly approaching at her leisure like a predator ready to pounce on her prey.
"
Charla's soft-spoken words flew past Donovan, and despite not understanding a word she said, her intentions were too clear.
Charla pulled a knife that was tucked snug in her bosom and licked its edge. " Donovan shook, unable to control his body. "Get a hold of yourself, Donovan! I have to help Kalika and Zelak!" His eyes drew back to his pouch. "I can't let this succubus get in my way!"
As Charla inched ever closer, she smiled more deeply with an excitement brewing just beneath her calm exterior.
Finally, with a new firm resolve, Donovan broke through his uncontrolled dread and uncorked the vial, gulping down its contents at once. "This better work!"
To his shock, his chest filled with air, and the pain he had felt seconds ago began to subside. With a newfound energy and determination flowing through him, he snatched a magic crystal from his pouch, pointed it straight at Charla.
Confused, Charla stopped and giggled at Donovan. " Suddenly, a burst of fire shot out, surprising Charla. She dodged back, nearly getting caught in the raging spew of fire. As she turned back to Donovan, he dashed past her, leaving her befuddled at what just happened.
He turned back to face her with the crystal raised expectantly, as he huffed from the quick adrenaline rush. Charla gazed at his determined face with awe, then smiled. Seeing this expression made Donovan uneasy. He glanced back at the giant hole to his right and saw a pit that was black and had no bottom.
"How am I Supposed to get down there!?"
Donovan glanced back at Charla's and saw her pink eyes begin to glisten and glow.
"C-crap!" Donovan closed his eyes and turned his head. "I can't look her in the eye. Otherwise, she'll trap me in a world of her illusions!"
Hearing a rush of steps, Donovan peeked and to his shock, Charla dashed in with her knife in hand, prepared to slash at him like some crazed woman.
Charla swung and Donovan jerked back, still unprepared. Charla grabbed his shoulder and stared straight at Donovan, who forced his eyes closed.
And intense fire built up in his hands again, but before he could shoot it off, his head was forced back, and he felt a force pulling him to his back. He expected the hard floor, but to his surprise, his back landed on something soft.
Cold Iron pressed on the side of his neck, followed by heavy breathing on his right ear. Charla giggled to herself and then whispered. "" She caressed his chest and trailed down his stomach.
A shiver ran down Donovan's spine.
Taking a chance, he rolled out of her grasp and darted his eyes back to her, shocked by her boldness. But she was gone. Unexpectedly, a gust of wind surrounded him, followed by a thick veil of smoke. He panicked and whipped around his head, searching.
The sound of trailing feet pattered on the ground too fast for him to keep up, and a giggle filled the air.
"Sh-she's… So fast…" Donovan, trying to maintain his determination, manifested a ball of fire in his hand.
" Hearing a skid, he aimed and shot. Hitting nothing. He readied another fireball, only to achieve the same result.
Donovan clenched his teeth and continued to shoot through the thick fog in vain. He then stopped and wrenched his fingers, trying to focus on finding the succubus, but then a whoosh abruptly filled that air, and Donovan was head butted to the ground.
With the wind knocked out of him, he gasped for air. It wasn't long before Charla sat on Donovan's stomach. As she giggled, she swirled and wrapped her tail around his neck seductively. She then tucked her knife back into her bosom and reached for his pants.
Reluctantly, he grabbed her tail and pulled it hard. "I won't… Let you!!"
Amused by his effort, she slowly unwrapped her tail and teasingly leaned back, and laid on his mud-painted chest. To his shock, she wrapped her arms around his head and spoke. " Donovan jolted. "L- Let me go!!" He freed himself from Charla's grasp and distanced himself to the furthest corner of the room. He held his nibbled ear with a flushed face and slowly trailed behind the cobblestone fireplace, his eyes still locked to Charla's position.
Upon feeling his waist, he noticed something vital missing. He checked and found his sword was gone. He glanced back at Charla across the giant hole and saw that she was playfully waving the sword around with the strap in hand. She then tossed it aside and leapt straight at Donovan.
Panicked Donovan raised his arm and manifested a fireball, but suddenly found that she was already face to face with him. "How did she…?
Overpowering him, she pushed him to the wall behind, cracking it by the seams.
Donovan gasped. He looked at Charla with a pounding heart, as she smiled salaciously at him. It was a smile that keenly reminded him of someone he wished to forget, but she was a woman deeply ingrained in his very soul, and seeing that reflection horrified him.
Donovan trembled, once again consumed by the dread of a returning past. "N…No! I can't give in. N-not now!" he gritted his teeth and attempted to push Charla off.
Suddenly, her pink eyes blinded and disoriented Donovan. He reoriented himself and tried to force Charla off him.
Just as she seemed to give way, he felt a hand caressing his chin. Donovan slowly glanced to the side, and his horror, a second Charla, appeared.
"W-what the-!"
Charla forced him back to the wall, and to his surprise, a third Charla appeared on the other side and pulled away his mask. They all called out to him in their demon tongue, all the while caressing and intruding on his body as they saw fit.
Donovan felt his body become more rigid and trapped. The more he looked around, the more Charla's seemed to appear around him. He felt a vertigo kick in as he tried to calm down.
"Damn it! I have to break free from her. I can't let Kalika down! Not like before and the time before that!"
"Let go of me," Donovan uttered. "Let go of me!!"
Charla jerked back, surprised to see him yell.
"I refuse to let her use me like that, Emilia, and that other succubus! "
Desperate Donovan channeled magic into his palm, but unlike before, the fire magic engulfed his very hands in a painful blaze. He screamed out in pain, and the illusions vanished, leaving him with only one Charla.
Charla looked on in stunned silence. Unexpectedly, Donovan swung his fists, nearly hitting her and forcing her back.
Donovan winced and wrenched from the pain, and after a moment, the fire completely dissipated from his palm, leaving behind a burned and scarred hand. Donovan glanced at his newly scarred hand. "That hurt like hell! So this is what happens when I conjure magic in my body. Still, I'm going to have to thank Zelak later for that tip."
Charla gazed back at him, unsure how to react. Not long after, Donovan's intense gaze turned back to her, and her deep excitement welled up again. With a chuckle, she drew her knife back out and licked the edge of it again.
Without warning, she dashed at him, thrusting her blade. Donovan dodged, and she struck the wall. She glanced back at him with a gaze as intense as fire and attacked again, pushing him back.
Without anything to protect himself, Donovan was forced to dodge left, right, up, down. She swung her knife to his face, forcing him to jerk his head back and watch as her blade arced past him. She ceased and teasingly licked her blade.
"Sh-she's toying with me!" Using this brief opportunity, Donovan snatched a magic crystal from his pouch, determined, and shot out several balls of stone.
Charla danced through his attack with ease and posed her knife, ready to strike again.
Donovan's back hit the wall, shaking loose several bottles and vials. He moved right to dodge only to realize he was behind the store counter. "Crap!" Panicking, he tossed the last crystal away and frantically searched his pouch and whipped a new crystal out. "This better work!"
A small wall of water began to manifest. But undeterred, Charla sunk her blade through the wall of water and cut through Donovan's chest.
Despite the shallow cut, Donovan still felt the painful sting as if it were deep. He leaned back on the wall and slowly bled out.
Charla flashed a victorious smile and pressed herself onto a weakened Donovan. She clutched his shoulder with her knife still in hand and leaned closer. " To Charla's surprise, Donovan grabbed her wrist with shaky hands. Seeing this, she passed a flirtatious glance, admiring him. " Suddenly, Donovan grabbed her other wrist and slowly pushed her away from him. "Forget about it. I'm not going to be your toy!"
Charla could only look on in shock.
"Now get out of my way! Kalika needs my help, and I won't let you stop me!"
" "Aarrghh!!" Donovan winced. And saw as her eyes began to glow again, this time with fury. Her face twisted into something more deranged and unhinged.
Charla smiled more slyly with a new goal in mind. ""
The reflection of Donovan that Charla saw seemed to overlap even more. Growing desperate, he quickly closed his eyes and channeled magic in his hands.
Donovan's hand and arm pulse with water magic, shocking the succubus. His arms swelled and a new world of pain surged as his muscles tore. "Keep going!" He fought through the pain and with what little strength and courage he had, he brought his arms to Charla's stomach. "I have to put everything I got into this one shot!"
"Get away from me! You demon!!"
Before Charla could react, a powerful stream of water gushed from Donovan's palm. The burst was small, yet powerful enough to push Charla off him. She landed at the edge of the giant hole, and as she posed herself ready to dash back to Donovan, she was head butted and pushed straight into the hole.
Shocked, she reached out to grab him in vain and sank deeper into the abyss below.
Soon after the magic that flowed in his arms dispersed, and they fell to his side more limp. Donovan's voice became more strained as he fought through pain surging through his arms. "Damn it… I think I overdid it."
He eyed the counter and noticed a green vial lying on top of it. Determined to heal himself, he wobbled back and through sheer determination clutched the vial with his best hand and forced the elixir down his throat. "Please work."
As if by some miracle, the torn muscles in his arms repaired and his arms became brand new. He looked at his hands in awe at the power of this elixir. "This is crazy. Whatever this stuff is, it heals even the worst of injuries! What a minute!! We could give this to Bjorn!!"
Moving frantically, Donovan searched around the counter looking for any other vials of that almighty green elixir. He came across a small box filled with more of those black parchments. He took it in hand with a blood-stained hand.
"These look like the one I have…" He placed the box on top of the counter and searched further, only to step into a puddle. To his disappointment, he found that two of the vials had broken. "Tch! Just our luck."
Just then, a familiar voice arose. " Donovan turned, and to his utter horror, he saw Charla standing with wings abroad. Her lust-filled eyes fell upon Donovan, more dreamily. ""
Like a girl in love, she clutched her face and shook her head fiercely, unable to contain her excitement. " Donovan stood back up and darted his eyes to his sword that laid behind the counter and back to Charla, who pulled her knife back out. Her demonic wings morphed back into the body, and like a masochist, she sucked on the entirety of her blade.
Panicked, Donovan threw himself over the encounter and scurried to his sword.
Undeterred, Charla whipped the knife from the mouth that became coaxed in her blood and saliva. And with expert precision, she threw her knife aimed at Donovan. Reacting quickly, he grabbed his sword and just barely blocked it.
His heart pounded even harder as Charla slowly approached with a black parchment in hand. She picked up her knife again and smiled contently at Donovan, all before licking her lips once more, with an excitement in her eyes.