The dark elves instinctively stepped back, fear etched across their faces as they watched the human. He approached the elf's corpse without hesitation. With a mere snap of his fingers, the body vanished into nothing, leaving only silence in its place. The sight unsettled them further—this man didn't feel human at all.
Ali reached out with the Force, pulling a crystal-like flower from the hollow where the corpse had been. He studied the magical bloom in his hand but felt almost nothing—just the faintest whisper of mana.
'The mission isn't over yet', he thought, his gaze drifting back to the dark elves. His eyes lingered on the voluptuous one. 'After the last three days, I deserve this much'. He sent the flower into his inventory, ignoring the stream of messages from Miles.
Through his soul connection, he felt his dragons near Stork Fort, and Eldora's condition stabilising. No urgency pressed him now. His Spirit Realm was still repairing itself, his nerves screaming in pain whenever he exerted himself—but he revealed nothing outwardly.
"Now then…" Ali's voice was cold as steel. He lifted his arms, showing the dried black paint smeared across his muscular frame. "Who's going to explain why I'm covered in ink?"
The elves glanced at each other, unprepared for the question.
"We don't know…" Eryndis said softly, her tone deliberately feminine, trying to placate the dangerous man.
"You don't know." Ali stepped forward. Immediately, Kaelyra shoved Eryndis behind her, aura flaring as her body braced for combat. At the very least, she would buy her priestess time to flee.
"Listen well, dark elves." Ali's black eyes glimmered. "I know you have nowhere to go. You're fugitives, hunted by elven trackers. And now that I've slain one of their knights, I'd bet they'll be sending even more after you."
CRUNCH.
The sound of something massive stirred in the ruined forest behind them. The elves froze. Ali, however, remained perfectly calm. He already knew what was slithering among the carnage, feasting on the fallen elves.
"What are you suggesting, human?" Kaelyra demanded, her gaze locked on him, tense and unyielding.
"Maids," Ali said simply.
"What?" Kaelyra blinked in disbelief.
"I'm in need of maids to serve me," he replied as though it were the most natural thing in the world.
The crunching of trees and bones grew louder.
"You… want us to be your maids?" This time Eryndis spoke, confusion in her voice. Their reputation preceded them across the continent, and Ali clearly had no knowledge of it. To all others, they were the witches of the forest—villains from children's tales, cursed women said to hunt men in the dark and drain their vitality, leaving corpses in their wake. Born from the legacy of the Succubi Queen when the demons first set foot upon the continent.
"Yes," Ali answered without hesitation.
CRUNCH.
The noise was almost upon them now, yet Ali didn't even glance back.
"Why?" Eryndis asked, suspicion sharp in her tone.
"Why should you accept?" Ali countered smoothly. "Because I am a baron—soon to be count. As my maids, you'll live in castles. You'll never have to watch your backs again, because no one will dare touch you under my protection. And more importantly, I can teach you how to fight. Not whatever that pathetic display was just now."
"No," Eryndis shook her head, stepping out from behind Kaelyra. Ali's eyes flicked downward, drawn to the generous curves struggling against the leather that barely contained them. "I meant—why would a human noble want dark elves as maids?"
"Oh, you meant that." Ali feigned realisation, rubbing his chin. "Well, the truth is simple. Because you're hot. What else?"
He said it so casually but both elves froze, their violet eyes widening. Their arms fell limply at their sides as their attention shifted past Ali.
"I'm also interested in the shadow magic you wield," he continued, oblivious to their stares.
But they weren't listening. Their bodies trembled as they stared at the enormous dragon looming behind Ali. A low growl rumbled from its throat, vibrating through the forest and into their bones. Two massive eyes—purple, ancient, and entrancing—gazed directly at them.
"What else…Did I say your hot?"
Ali only turned when Shadow nudged him with the tip of his colossal snout. Turning, Ali smirked as he patted the beast's rough black scales. Shadow was even larger now, his wounds healed, though his eyes still carried the faint lingering purple glow of Bahamut's soul.
'Did Bahamut leave something inside him?' Ali wondered, rubbing his dragon as one would a dog—if that dog were a thousand times more ferocious and a thousand times bigger.
"So?" Ali turned back to the elves.
Eryndis glanced at Kaelyra. Kaelyra looked back at her. Neither wanted to answer.
"We accept… Lord," Eryndis finally said, her gaze locked on Ali's black eyes, narrowed in the moonlight.
"Master Ali," he corrected.
Kaelyra flinched at the word. Her lips pressed shut, refusing.
"Master… Ali," Eryndis repeated, the words hesitant on her tongue.
"Good." Ali's voice softened just slightly. "Now, let's return to your cave. I need rest."
His eyes were burning from any hint of light—the aftereffects of wielding the Dragon Eyes of the Cosmic Fire too long, worsened by repeated lightning blindness.
Kaelyra nodded, vanishing ahead in silent strides. Eryndis turned to follow, but froze as strong arms suddenly lifted her from the ground. Ali's thick frame carried her effortlessly. Then, in a burst of speed, he shot forward, overtaking Kaelyra with ease.
Shadow stayed outside the cave, a dark sentinel in the tree-line beside the pond.
Inside, Ali set Eryndis down. Her body was soft, dangerously so, and though the feel lingered in his mind, he let her go without a word.
"Eryndis. Kaelyra," she introduced, gesturing between herself and the warrior elf. Ali nodded in acknowledgment.
"The ink," he said, pointing at the ritual markings where he had been lying before. "And that. Explain."
Eryndis hesitated.
"Say it," Ali ordered, his voice brooking no refusal.
"Our ritual," she admitted. "We use it to harvest Spirit for our magic. We dark elves cannot draw Spirit from the forest like the high elves can."
"And you were going to harvest that Spirit from me?" Ali's tone sharpened. "How does it work?"
Eryndis swallowed. "I… I mate with you. During the act, I absorb your vitality and convert it into Spirit. Normally, the man dies—drained."
Ali blinked once. "So you gain power by having sex."
His bluntness struck like a hammer. Eryndis flushed scarlet, while Kaelyra squeezed her eyes shut in shame.
"Let's do it," Ali said, unbuttoning his pants.
"What?!" Eryndis gasped, shocked as he unbuttoned his pants and took them off, left only in his new boxers.
"I said let's perform your ritual. It fulfils part of your duty as my maid anyway," Ali said matter-of-factly.
"Part of our duty?" Kaelyra asked warily, unable to mask her surprise.
"It is the duty of a maid," Ali smiled devilishly, "to relieve her master of his… needs."
Neither elf had expected that. Their wide eyes made it clear.
Ali flicked a finger, and a soft fur mat flew from Kaelyra's tent, landing neatly between himself and Eryndis.
Warning: heavy R18 in the next two chapters, you can skip them if you want.
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