{A/N: Tbh, I didn't really feel like writing the sex scene for Thea. She isn't really my fav. Should I remove it? Imma really go crazy with Hanako's scene. Trust me, yall will be fiening for more.}
***
"Before I leave, we're going to finish what we started," she purred. The harem trope had tried to derail everything earlier, but he refused to let it win this time.
An idea came to him, and he moved without hesitation.
"Hold on a second," he said quickly. He moved around the apartment locking every window, which for some strange reason had all been left open.
Then, he made sure the front door was locked, turned off the living room TV, put his phone in silent mode, and double-checked that nothing else was humming with power.
Presently, the whole place went quiet except for the two of them.
"What exactly are you doing?" Thea asked, amusement clear in her tone. She floated closer, caught his arm, and gently led him toward the bedroom. "I'll order us some pie later if you want."
Hiro smiled and pulled her into a kiss that deepened fast. He undressed her slowly while their lips stayed locked as their hearts were raced together.
In no time, he was kissing lower, both of them naked now. Thea let out a soft sound of pleasure the moment his fingers slipped inside her warm, wet depths.
He plunged his fingers in and out with care and she tightened around him, nails pressing into his back while her husky breaths tickled his neck.
"Enough teasing," she whimpered.
***
An hour later, Thea's chest heaved, eyes half-lidded and glazed with pleasure as she lay in the afterglow of their intimacy. She dragged a finger through the sticky mess on her stomach and brought it to her lips and sucked it clean with a slow, teasing swirl of her tongue.
"Goddamn," she panted, voice wrecked. "That was the best sex I've had in a long time."
She rolled toward him, pressing her cum-slicked body against his side with one leg hooking over his thigh. Her breathing was still ragged as she nuzzled into his neck.
"I may never leave now," Thea teased, sticking her tongue out playfully. She pressed her face into his chest and sighed after receiving no response from Hiro. "I'm going to shower. I'd ask you to join, but time is against me. I can't exactly skip the meeting with father."
"Time is never on our side," Hiro replied. She surprised him with one more kiss.
"Silly human." She headed for the bathroom, somehow summoning a soft pink bottle of soap and a few other things out of thin air. The sound of running water started once the door clicked shut, but not before she gave him one last inviting glance over her shoulder.
***
Hiro glanced at his phone and grinned despite himself. He had five missed calls and a string of messages. The harem trope had been held at bay for now, though he wasn't naive enough to think it wouldn't try again soon.
He showered once Thea left, tossed the sheets and dirty clothes into the wash, and hummed an old Earth tune under his breath while the machine ran. For some reason, his head was clear and his mood jovial.
At eight o'clock sharp he met the others at the nearest bus stop. Everyone already knew exactly where Ryder lived. The directions the nervous guy had given earlier still didn't make much sense for someone who's new to the city like Hiro. Plus, his mental navigation offered nothing useful.
Of course, he would need it again soon for the open fields outside town.
Barely ten minutes into the walk they ran into their first fight of the night. A spectral demon with ashen skin and glowing white runes etched across his robes hovered ten feet off the ground on swirling currents of dark wind.
Below him were three Level 10 shadow wraiths glared at the group, their forms flickering like smoke.
[Your party has entered combat!]
Shadow Herald
Level: 14
Type: Monster
Work under: Demon Lord Spawn
Special: Vortex Gale [12% chance of knockdown]
Weakness: Your Hostile Detection isn't high enough for this.
Resistances: See above.
Secret: Your Hostile Detection, Luck, and Will isn't high enough for this.
"You guys handle the wraiths," Lumina said. "I'll take the floating one."
Everyone nodded and spread out. Hiro focused on one lone wraith, drew his sword, and swung it down hard. The creature let out a hollow screech but didn't die and was quite resilient. It slashed out with its long shadowy claws but Hiro was faster.
He finished it with a clean second swing that dispersed its form into nothing. At the same time, the others dropped their targets.
Everyone except Lumina that is. She was clearly charging something big. The Shadow Herald tried to blast her with countless swirling gusts, yet the magical girl stood firm.
[Lumina used Stellar Nova Lance]
She aimed what looked like an invisible cosmic bow knocked with an arrow at the hovering monster, then released it in one smooth motion. A blazing lance of starlight tipped with a swirling nova of energy streaked upward, pierced straight through the herald's chest, and dropped it instantly.
[Battle completed. Victory! Reward: 800 EXP and $100.]
[Congratulations, you have reached Level 15! Stats increased! You have learned Spirit Slash!]
"Not bad," Kaito said. "Let's keep up this momentum on the way to Ryder's."
Before they moved on, Hanako quickly checked everyone's health. No one needed healing. The group fought through four more encounters along the route, ranging from electric shades to more shadow heralds.
Ryder looked genuinely shocked when they all showed up at his door. He had expected Hiro to bail after the police warnings about staying inside at night. But, seeing him here now caused an unexpected sense of relief to wash over him.
Bringing backup clearly excited him. Hiro ran a quick analysis on the tall, black-haired classmate as Ryder led them around to the backyard. The guy stood a full head taller than Kaito, lanky yet edged with lean muscle, the kind of build you saw on anime characters.
Name: Ryder
Level: 11
Type: Brawler
Relationship: Neutral. Classmate
HP: 100%
MP: 100%
Stats: Relationship isn't high enough.
Special abilities: Relationship isn't high enough.
Skills: How many times do I have to tell you, Relationship isn't high enough, you shit-for-brains.
Magic abilities: See above.
Secrets: See above.
A chill settled over Hiro the closer they got to the backyard. The neighborhood itself looked peaceful and clean, which only made the feeling stranger.
Ryder had a big grassy front yard, and the back mirrored it in size. Then a soft, girlish laugh cut through the quiet. Ryder went pale.
"I don't know… maybe we should turn back," he muttered.
"No," Kaito said firmly. "You can wait here if you want, but what you're about to see stays secret. You have the gift too."
The group pressed on with no further arguments. Ryder's pride won out and he eventually followed.
At first, Hiro saw nothing unusual. Then, a humanoid shadow drifted slowly toward them, roughly the height of Hanako or Lumina, about five-foot-five.
"What in the…"
The shadow suddenly solidified into an odd creature. Hiro analyzed it instantly. It had the shape of a curvaceous woman, yet everything about it looked like living, translucent violet slime shot through with swirling moonlight veins.
"What the fuck is that?" Ryder yelled. No one answered him. He looked rooted to the spot.
Eclipse Siren Nyxara
Level: 25
Type: Monster
Work under: N/A
Special: Lunar Entwining [Chance of forcing itself onto victims. Prefers males but doesn't discriminate. Sexual intimacy can halve MP and HP. If prolonged, it can cause complete exhaustion. 0.1% chance of enemy going wild enough to kill its victim.]
Weakness: Your Hostile Detection isn't high enough for this.
Resistances: See above.
Secret: Your Hostile Detection, Luck, and Will isn't high enough for this.
"Everyone stay alert," Hiro warned. "This one's strong." The chill the creature gave off didn't fade.
He knew from old games that slimes could be either weak fodder or absolute nightmares. This mini-boss with its twisted special ability left zero room for mistakes. This was something he was not going to take lightly.
[Your party has entered combat!]
The eclipse siren, Nyxara, let out a soft, human-sounding giggle. "Humans are such fragile things, but so much fun to play with," she sang in a woman's melodic voice. "Hearts full of chaos and power. Let me show you a good time."
"I don't think so," Lumina snapped. "Kaito, battle plan two?"
"Yeah, I guess," Kaito replied, "but let's make Hiro the leader this time."
They spread into a semicircle formation.
"Why me?" Hiro asked, a little annoyed. He didn't want to be the one coming up with complex plans mid-fight.
"Something about you just feels right for it," Kaito answered.
"Hey!" Nyxara barked. "How dare you ignore me!"
[Enemy used Static Flash Stun!]
A blinding flash struck Kaito. He dropped to the ground, stunned. His eyes widened in shock at being unable to move.
"You're cute, pretty boy. I'll start with you!" Nyxara sang, gliding toward the helpless fighter.
"Stop standing there and help!" Kaito yelled.
A stream of starlit energy spiraled from Lumina's direction. The impact slowed the siren just enough.
[Enemy HP has dropped to 180%]
"That hurt," Nyxara hissed. "A puny human hurting me? You want to interfere with my fun? I'll punish you nice and slow for that."
The attack bought Kaito the second he needed to shake off the stun. He climbed to his feet, still a bit slow. Nyxara shook her head and raised a slime hand that began to glow. Hiro had no idea what was coming, but he refused to let her finish it.
He thrust one hand forward and released an Energy Sphere. The hit knocked her back hard.
[Critical hit! Enemy HP has dropped to 135%! Enemy is stunned. Attack once more!]
Everyone finally used their heads and piled on. Hiro unleashed scatter shots of spirit energy. Lumina fired cosmic bolts. Hanako called down lightning magic. Kaito hurled glowing throwing knives that seemed to appear from thin air.
[Enemy HP has dropped to 50%]
The eclipse siren leapt up, furious. Her whole form trembled with rage and muttered curses. Suddenly, a massive flash of light engulfed them all.
[Enemy has used All-Around Empty Flash]
Hiro swallowed hard. In his mind's eye, he saw a tiny thunderbolt icon with a countdown timer beside it.
"What the fuck?" Ryder hissed. He seemed to be the only one unaffected, but he was already backing away fast. "What the fuck, what the fuck, dude. This can't be real. But… I… dude, I need God. Dear God, please help."
Hiro tuned out the panicked classmate. His mouth nearly fell open. Nyxara was already in front of Kaito, ripping his clothes away while giggling at his angry protests. In seconds, she had him completely naked.
She chuckled, laid him on his back, and began massaging him with slick hands.
"Such a pretty thing," she purred as his body responded. Kaito cursed and threatened, but it didn't stop her from straddling him.
[Enemy used Lunar Entwining!]
She rode him hard while moaning in pleasure, laughing, and even kissing him with slick lips.
[Kaito's strength is being drained! Kaito's MP has halved! Kaito's HP has halved!]
Hiro glared at the timer, which was counting down painfully slow. He wanted no part of this. He tried to move but couldn't. Just then, Nyxara let out a climax cry. She turned her glowing eyes toward Hiro.
He stayed perfectly still, looking bored and uninterested. Kaito lay breathing hard, hit with an exhaustion debuff. The ploy worked. Nyxara shifted toward the snarling magical girl instead. It was a look that clearly pleased the siren.
"I'll come back to you," she promised Hiro, then appeared in front of Lumina in a blink.
"Sh*t, sh*t, sh*t," Hiro muttered. "We can't risk another exhaustion. Not against something this strong, we're so close."
If he didn't care about Lumina's safety, he might have risked the hand bomb when the timer finally ran out. If it ever did. He tried Instant Stride hoping it would break the hold, but nothing happened.
Just like before, Nyxara tore away her victim's clothes and laid Lumina down. Lumina whined, tears slipping free.
"Yes, just like that, wretched girl. Now, I'll show you some true pain."
Hiro thought she was done for, but something struck the siren hard enough to get its attention. An old brick?
[Enemy HP has dropped to 45%! Enemy is enraged!]
"Who's the wretch?" Nyxara rose and turned.
What she didn't expect was the baseball bat that came swinging from behind, bashing her repeatedly in the head.
[Enemy HP has dropped to 15%]
Ryder didn't stop. He roared as he beat the slime monster into submission. He kept swinging until only a puddle remained on the grass. He even hit the puddle a few more times for good measure.
[Battle completed. Victory! Reward: 8000 EXP and $300.]
[You have reached Levels 16 and 17! You have learned Spirit Wave!]
The status effect vanished immediately. Hanako moved to heal the the team.
"Ryder, could you grab them some clothes?" Hiro asked softly. Ryder nodded and sprinted inside, returning minutes later with sweatpants and shirts for both Kaito and Lumina.
"You really saved our asses back there, man," Hiro said. "Never felt so powerless. That was no ordinary paralysis."
"We… won't be able to fight the demon lord like this," Lumina said, still shaken. "I… was so scared. And Kaito." She suddenly smirked despite everything. "Lost his virginity."
Kaito tried to glare, but exhaustion left him too drained to do more than pull on the clothes.
Just then, a shimmer of light appeared, materializing into a small wooden chest about a foot in front of Hiro.
Like the ones before, it looked like an ancient storage box. He couldn't fight the gamer urge and opened it to distract himself from the urge to laugh at Kaito's situation. He bit his lip hard, holding back the snicker. He took the item he wanted and left the rest for the others.
[You have found the Tome of Spirit Weaver. Item Value: Mysterious.
Your unique spiritual-based Special Ability allows compatibility with this book. Opening it will allow you to learn Mystic skills, abilities, and magic. You cannot read this book at night. Warning, it will vanish after one use.]
Hiro stored the tome in his inventory. Kaito took the time to explain everything to wide-eyed Ryder.
"It's getting late," Hiro said ten minutes later. "Let's call it a night. Ryder, we'll keep in touch."
"Let's all exchange numbers," Hanako suggested. "This situation is far too important to ignore."
[You have received new phone numbers!]
[Your Relationship with Ryder has changed from Neutral —> Friendly-Respect.]
Later at night, Hiro lay in bed feeling angry at himself for being so powerless. He hoped that the shower would calm him, but it didn't.
That siren could have taken all of them… could have drained them until nothing remained.
He promised himself right then that this was the end of his weakness. He would do whatever it took to grow stronger. If he couldn't handle enemies like that, then The End would wipe the floor with him when it finally came. Then, a sudden thought came to him.
'Shit. I still have to go to Rin's place in the morning…'