Charla smiled and brought forth the black parchment riddled with red symbols on its face.
"Wait, isn't that-" Donovan's eyes widened in shock, and before he could react, Charla took her knife and smeared what little blood remained onto it. And as she did, the contract glowed in recognition of her blood.
Donovan's heart sank. Understanding her intentions.
Zelak's words began to ring in his head like a siren. "[The most dangerous thing about enslavement contracts is that only a small bit of blood is needed. Even if when it's wiped off the floor, it still counts in the eyes of this contract.]"
Donovan looked at his hands, noticing that it was stained with blood. His blood. "I-if she gets my blood…"
"Wait a minute." His heart stopped as he glanced at the Contract in her hand and recognized the one in Charla's grasp. "Isn't that the contract I moved?"
Donovan held his breath, expecting a change. But he felt the same as before. Upon closer inspection, he noticed that the side for the contracted to sign was blank.
"Good lord. It looks like I was lucky this time." Donovan slowly stood back up and narrowed his eyes. "But still… Did my blood not register?"
To Donovan's shock, Charla glared at the contract in utter confusion. She glanced back and forth between Donovan and the contract.
"Grrr." Charla pouted and tossed the parchment into the hole, frustrated. "
"Why is she- D…Does she not know how it works!?"
Despite the stunning display of ignorance, this gave Donovan an idea. He glared at the giant hole where the contract was tossed, then back at Charla, who gazed at him with pure excitement in her eyes. "I wonder how much this Succubus really wants me?"
Donovan eyed his pouch that held a single crystal and a folded black parchment.
********
"Here, hold onto this," Zelak said.
Zelak handed the contract that Charla had used in a failed attempt to enslave Donovan. They stood just on the outskirts of the marshlands, away from prying eyes. "Make sure to add your blood here." Zelak pointed.
"W-waited. I don't understand. Why are you giving this to me?"
"You're going to be my backup plan in case things go south. If, for some reason, we have to fight against those ogres, you might be able to help us bring one down by collecting the blood of one of them here." Zelak pointed to the other side, where Donovan's blood was previously smeared. "It should overwrite your blood if I'm not mistaken, and that'll help by leaving us with just one ogre to beat."
Donovan scrutinized the contract in his hand. "Hmm… I see…"
"Just think of it as a way of me putting some faith in you. But to be honest, I doubt we'll need that contract. Zigfred has always been reasonable."
********
"No doubt Kalika and Zelak are fighting those huge Demons down there, and I can't just stay up here and twiddle my thumbs either." Donovan shot back to the present and noticed Charla making the first move.
Her startling speed still caught him off guard. Reacting quickly, he managed to block her first attack with his sword, interlocking blades with hers.
Like a natural disaster she pulled out and circled Donovan. "This again!?" His eyes sharpened, looking for any signs of her next attack.
Sure enough she attacked from behind, and clashed blades again. She smiled Impressed and pulled out once more,
She playfully ran across, clashing blades once then again, leaving Donovan on the complete defense as he struggled to keep up with her speed.
Finally tracking her from one direction he jerked his body around and blocked and attacked from above. The heft of her attack was greater than expected, and felt his knee nearly give way. He glanced up, discovering a wicked smile that spoke of a sinister plan that was brewing.
With all the strength he could muster he pushed her back, and went on the attack.
Charla dodge one attack after another with general ease, practically dancing with Donovan as he tries to push on to the giant hole behind her.
Suddenly she twirled around him and with her tail, grasped his arm.
Donovan froze as he felt his back against hers, and with a grace, she gently caressed his chin as she returned her knife back in her bosom. Unamused, he turned back to face her but was pulled down by her tail as she distanced herself from him. She mercilessly stepped on his hand, trying to force him to let go.
Unsuccessful, Charla raised Donovan by the arm with her tail and grabbed his wrist. She slowly worked her hands to his sword's hilt, then its razor edge where she held tight to it.
Donovan tried to pull away from Charla , but then he heard an audible gulp.
She gulped once. She gulped twice. She gulped for a third time and exhaled in satisfaction. Her eyes glistened even brighter as she looked at Donovan more lovingly.
He tried with all his might to pull his sword from her grasp but it was no use.
Taking advantage of his situation, she grabbed his shoulder and with a hungry smile, leaned it to kiss. Him.
Panicked, Donovan forced his hands to go, and freed himself from her grasp. He distanced herself and watched as she groaned in disappointment.. She then tossed his blade deep into the pit and gazed back.
Charla smiled at him and licked her bloodied hand, healing it in an instant. She giggled and without warning she dashed at Donovan.
Donovan aimed his hands. "She's too fast!"
Seeing her lunge at him he evaded grasp and like a hungry animal she jumped around him to catch him in her grasp.
The chaos that was building around him was starting to become unbearable as one lunge after another she would scratch him at the minimum, slowly draining his will. He was eventually back into the and out of sheer desperation grabbed one of the large bottles on the table.
In an instant, Charla grasped the bottle and shattered it to a thousand pieces right in front of him.
He backed further into the wall and felt a loose plank swinging right below. He grabbed it and blocked another of her attempts to grab him. Amused, she tried to rip it from his grasp, but instead, Donovan was pulled around with the new weapon and across the room.
Charla chuckled at this and slowly approached, watching as Donovan desperately stood back up and posed, ready to fight with it.
"
Donovan tightened his grasp on the wooden plank and took a deep breath. "O-kay. Calm down. I need to relax… and I need to concentrate…"
He took another deep breath, with his memories drifting back to his conversation with Zelak.
********
"Alright, so are you going to tell me this secret or not about how to get around my sword's restriction?" Donovan questioned.
Zelak picked a stick from the muddied land and tossed it to Donovan. "It's a little interesting trick I saw a couple of human swordsmen use. One of them was the Heroes of Prophecy, another was an old man, I think you're familiar with."
"Tilus?"
"Yes, the one who was training you and the champion." Zelak grabbed another stick from the ground. "From what I saw, their elemental magic always seemed to flow from their hands into their weapon. And out of curiosity, I experimented a little and the results…"
The stick in Zelak's hand caught fire. The fire crackled all through every inch of the stick. However, it didn't seem to burn.
"The magic drains from the hand and into the weapon. Even if it's a stick like this, it's very useful for what it is, which is why I use it on my sword often." The fire dissipated in an instant, leaving Donovan in awe.
Donovan trailed his gaze to his hands. "What happens if I try having the magic solely in my hands? "
"I wouldn't recommend it. Unless you're dealing with the cubus race, the only thing it does is destroy your body from the inside if you're not careful."
"But with that being said… There are two things you should know for now. The first is that blood blades, like the one you have, are akin to an unbreakable contract that forces you to comply. Lucky for you, your sword is more modern, which allows you to use some magic to attack too." Zelak smirked.
"And outside of defending yourself, as long as you cloak anything else with magic, you can retaliate with it."
Donovan glanced at his holstered sword, confused. "But why is that? D-don't get me wrong, but I don't think I understand. If we're restricted to attack without the sword, why is it that we can attack as long as it's cloaked with magic?"
"Hmm… I've been wondering the same, too, for a little bit now. I don't think I can say for sure…" Zelak pondered to himself for a moment. "I don't know, maybe it has something to do with the restriction set upon the sword. Or maybe it has to do with our connections to it. In any case, it's a boon to have, and not many demons here know about this as far as I know."
"Donovan smiled, relieved. "Well, that's good to know." He glanced back at Zelak. "Alright, so how do I do it?"
"Heh. Alright then. Your first step is to focus and manifest your magic as you normally do. Only this time, concentrate it within your hands."
********
"Then feel the tingling inside. Then release it!"
The wooden plank in Donovan's hand erupted into fire, shocking Charla.
In one swift motion, Donovan swung the large around, and a pulse of fire magic shot from it.
With wide eyes, Charla was forced to evade the arc of fire that pulsed out.
Donovan clenched his teeth, seeing Charla dashing at him again with her newly pulled blade.
The two clashed with Donovan trying to force Charla back. Once again, he cloaked the plank with fire magic.
"
Charla's gaze became even more intense as she grinned mischievously. She looked him straight in the eye and before he reacted, she blinded him with her eyes, leaving him in an empty room.
"What! Crap! Not again!" And whipped his head around, hearing her giggle echoing in the air. He drove his hands into his pouch without hesitation, channeled the last magic crystal in his possession. "Stay away!"
A burst of wind erupts from beneath Donovan, even sending him flying into the air, dumbfounding him.
Although reluctant, Donovan glanced at his free hand and channeled fire magic into his palms, but suddenly found the weight of a boulder strike from above that slammed straight into the ground.
"GA-ahh!" Donovan wrenched and found himself unable to move, and felt as if someone was sitting on him.
""
A piercing pain erupted in Donovan's chest as it was sliced. The pain was brief and slowly dissipated, as if it had never been there. It wasn't long before he felt something soft pressing against his chest, along with a hot breath that seemed to become heavier with an intense excitement.
Charla's giggles echoed around him. An intense heat began to build up in his body along with his manhood.
Unlike him, Charla was anything but shy as she teased him, caressing his chest and face and rubbing her own invisible body on him like an animal.
Desperate, Donovan channeled fire magic into his other hand, sending a wave of pain as the inside of his hands burned. Through the intensity of the pain, the illusion around him finally shattered, pulling him back into reality, where he suddenly found himself face-to-face with Charla as she closed in with puckered lips.
"C-crap!" Thinking fast, he pulled the wooden plank and cloaked it with fire magic, forcing it to her lips. She jerked back in an instant and cried out in pain as her lips got burned. She jumped off Donovan, wrenching from the pain.
"N-now's my chance!" Feeling an unnatural heat rising in him, Donovan got up and darted to the giant hole, surprising Charla. Her heart sank as she reached out and was forced to watch as Donovan jumped in.
"
"Y-You want me right!?" Donovan yelled. "Well, come and get me!!"
The air rushed all over Donovan's body as his waist and spine tightened, feeling the ground fast approaching in the abyss of the giant hole. His free hand clutched the only crystal in his pouch and prepared himself.
Suddenly, he stopped, and his arms were yanked up. He swung like a pendulum, and he felt his descent slow. He glanced up, and as expected, Charla was there with her demonic wings flapping in the air as she tried to save him. But with the descent still felt, it was clear she was struggling to pull him back up.
Out of nowhere, a thunderous weight shook the air around Donovan and Charla as they slowly came close to the ground. A massive gust of wind pierced the air like a rising tower, forcing Charla to swing herself and Donovan out of the way, nearly getting mauled by its splintering winds. Donovan could feel the shaking in the air as the sound of a battle became louder.
Soon, Kalika, Zelak, and the two ogres came into view as the two forces in an intense and heated exchange.
Zelak was struck hard with Brom's hammer, sending him flying into the wall.
"TCH!! I told you to find the demons! Don't stay here!" Kalika blocked Gorm's club, with the heft practically sinking her feet into the ground below.
"This isn't good!" Donovan moved his hands to grab the enslavement contract.
"Kalika! Zelak!" Donovan held the contract up, garnering confused stares and glares from everyone around.. "Crap! There's no going back now!"
"Kalika! Take this! You have to put one of their Bloo–"
The contract in Donovan's hands suddenly glowed from a small drip of blood from above.
"Eh?" Donovan glanced up, confused.
He watched as another drop of blood came from an utterly shocked Charla, who had a cut on the side of her face.
"
"AW CRAP!!"
Zelak shook his head, "You idiot," he muttered.