A/N: Here we are with Chapter 8! Eris the Beastkin Thief certainly doesn't seem like Marcus expected. Is there more here than meets the eye?
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No sooner have the words left Eris' lips then the freed Beastkin's mouth is back on his. She's kissing him just as deeply as before, while hanging from him like a particularly over-enthusiastic limpet.
Marcus, for his part, is absolutely frozen in shock. It doesn't help that she's actually proving to be an exceptionally good kisser. He never would have expected it from her, not when she'd looked so damn pitiful upon their first meeting. But the way her tongue works its way into his mouth is beyond anything he could have predicted. In fact… it's his first time kissing anyone, isn't it?
Today would appear to be a day of firsts. Though he honestly didn't know how to feel about the realization that he'd experienced his first blowjob before experiencing his first kiss. That wasn't how things were supposed to go, right? That wasn't the order it was supposed to happen in!
That wasn't even the biggest problem though. Eris had just called him Lord! Did she somehow know?! There was no way, right?! So far, Marcus hadn't met a single person since his Awakening who recognized him as anything but the Destined Hero. And yet he knew in his heart of hearts that his true Job was the Dark Lord.
Surely Eris couldn't know though, right? Surely this random Beastkin Thief who was Awakened just today couldn't possibly be the first to see through his disguise.
… No. No, that wasn't it. As Marcus holds Eris up while she continues to cling to his broad torso and eagerly makeout with him, the half-orc convinces himself that that can't be the case. How would she know his true Job, right? Instead, wasn't it far more likely that she was simply calling him 'Lord' because of the relationship between the two of them?
Even if he'd freed her from her enslavement at the hands of the Church, she might still view him in a deferential light. Indeed, the power dynamic that had existed between them mere minutes ago would no doubt still color her view. But he definitely hadn't expected her to be quite so… amorous about things. He'd thought she would be angry at him. Or at least, he thought she'd be angry at the Church and her circumstances. Truth be told, he'd expected her to fly into a rage. It's what he would have done in her shoes, more than likely.
Instead of attacking him, she's kissing him quite insistently. And while Marcus is very appreciative of the Beastkin's nubile form rubbing up against his body and the half-purr, half-growl reverberating out of her throat and into his mouth, he feels like he can't let this continue on.
His orcish instincts demand he do so, however. Blood isn't the only thing roaring in his ears right now. Marcus has fought against his instincts all his life, but after how he held back with Serafina… well, now it seems his true nature is trying to make a stand. No more, he can almost imagine it saying, if it could speak. No more.
Well, tough luck. As much as his instincts are baying for Marcus to dominate and fuck the lithe Beastkin right there on the spot, he's a well-practiced hand at fighting such battles with himself. He's spent a lifetime repressing these instincts, and even if today has been a day to end all days, Marcus refused to give in to his darker side now.
His hands, which HAD moved to cup Eris' pert little behind, finally slide up to her sides. With his immense orcish strength, he reluctantly pries the Beastkin away from him. As their lips end up disengaging from one another, Eris' tongue remains lolled out for a long moment, a line of drool connecting their mouths as she whines piteously.
But Marcus doesn't let her whine get to him as he resolutely holds her at arm's length, leaving her stranded in midair due to the sheer size of his limbs. After a few moments of struggling, she stops and just dangles there in his grasp. Only once she's stopped squirming in an ineffectual attempt to get back to him does Marcus carefully sets her down. To her credit, it only takes a few moments for her to remember herself and where she is.
She blushes a little bit as he sets her down, but still looks at him with hungry, lustful eyes. Marcus clears his throat, uncomfortable at the aroused gaze she's directing his way.
"We can't… we shouldn't be doing this sort of thing, Eris. We just met and I'm not your Master or your 'Lord' anymore. I don't need you to give yourself to me out of some misplaced sense of gratitude either. Maybe… maybe we can just be friends to start?"
That would be the best case scenario, as Marcus saw it. He hadn't dared to hope that Eris would WANT to stay a member of the Destined Hero's Party once he freed her, but after that reaction… maybe she would, right? He wouldn't drive her away or anything like that. He wasn't going to force her to leave. He just… didn't want to take advantage of her, that was all.
Eris blinks slowly as she takes in his words. Her cat-like ears twitch atop her head, and her tail swishes back and forth behind her. She stares up at him in silence for several long moments. Her expression is blank and he has no idea what she's thinking. It gets to the point where Marcus wonders if he should say something else. He begins to fear that his rejection wasn't gentle enough and he's made her shut down or something. He's not equipped for this sort of thing, he doesn't-!
"… heh."
Huh? Its Marcus' turn to blink as Eris lets out a soft laugh. It's almost a scoff in nature, at least at first. Suddenly, she's laughing damn near uncontrollably.
"Ahahahahahaha!"
Marcus' ears feel hot as he takes a step back, well used to being laughed at by his detractors. It was a common enough occurrence, but he wasn't expecting it to happen here. Not with the Beastkin he just freed. Wasn't she at least a little grateful? She certainly SEEMED grateful before. So then why was she laughing at him?!
The moment she sees his discomfort, Eris has the good grace to stop laughing. But she doesn't stop smiling. In fact, her smile quickly turns into a grin so wicked that it gives Marcus pause. He stares at her. That wicked grin, along with everything else so far… she's not acting like the enslaved, downtrodden, Beastkin Thief he was expecting her to act like. All of this was quite strange, wasn't it?
"You really don't realize, do you my Lord? You actually bought the act just like they did? Well, that's a fine compliment. If I can fool even you, then my glamor truly is top-notch!"
Glamor? Marcus opens his mouth to ask what she means, but before he can demand an explanation, Eris decides to give him an actual physical demonstration instead.
The cat-like ears atop Eris' head are the first things to melt away right alongside her full head of brown hair. In their place a pair of curved demonic horns reveal themselves, nestled among cute purple locks. From there the transformation continues down the length of the diminutive female's body. Her skin, which had been a pale tone, changes into a rich violet, and her eyes are revealed to be bright yellow. Her teeth, which had already been a little sharper than your average human's, are now downright deadly, set in rows as her elongated tongue slips back and forth over them.
Her cat tail, furred and swishing behind her, is revealed instead to be a furless spade tail. Even her clothing changes, from a ragged shirt and shorts to a strange laced get-up. At her sides are a pair of sheathed daggers in a belt that hangs loosely from her waist but honestly leaves little to the imagination. She's practically naked once the transformation is complete. Naked… and armed.
Marcus gapes at the demon now unveiled before him. She's a cute little thing, don't get him wrong, but she's also very clearly a demon, and he's utterly flabbergasted at the sight of her. Eris, meanwhile, places an arm over her chest in a salute before dropping to a knee in supplication.
"I am the demon known as Erised, my Lord. I pledge myself to you here and now. In the name of my ancestors, I will be your sworn blade. A dagger in the side of your enemies, a shadow in the night that none will escape from. My life is yours to do with as you please."
As the now renamed Erised pledges herself to him, as she gives her oath, Marcus' heart has begun racing again. He swallows thickly and shakes his head, ignoring the more pertinent question for the time being to instead ask something far simpler.
"H-How? How is this possible? How are you here?"
Demons were… well, they were worse than orcs, by all the Church's teachings. In fact, by all rights Marcus should have either attacked Erised by now or ran yelling for the Paladins. Demons were universally understood to be corruptive, terrible influences on both the mind and soul. To knowingly spend any length of time in the vicinity of a Demon without making your very best attempt at killing it was… unthinkable.
And yet, here Marcus was all the same. For obvious reasons, he wasn't entirely sure all those Church teachings he was currently ignoring applied to him anymore. And he really did want to know how the fuck Erised had gotten here if she was actually a Demon all along.
"It was actually quite simple, my Lord. The Church has grown fat and lazy. They'd never expect someone like me to put myself directly in their clutches. After I found out about your Awakening, I used my glamor to slip into another of their Chapels and have them 'Awaken' me as well. With a bit of trickery, I was able to convince them that I was Eris, a Beastkin with the Thief Job. From there… well, you know the rest."
Marcus' mouth opens and closes wordlessly for a few moments. Technically he did know the rest. But he still wasn't quite managing to follow her line of thinking.
"But how did you know they would assign you to me? How did you know I would even be willing to free you?"
His eyes dart down to the floor where Erised's shackles and chains still sit, inert. The nubile Demon's gaze follows him down and she shrugs her shoulders, her demonic spade tail flicking back and forth much like it did when she was still in her Beastkin disguise.
"I overheard a conversation about the party makeup that that bitch the Pope wanted for you, so I knew that her cronies would be on the lookout for a freshly Awakened, docile Thief! From there, I played my part perfectly! Of course, my freedom was never in question. If I hadn't been chosen, I would have merely broken out and looked for another opportunity to make contact with you, my Lord."
Reaching out with her toes, Erised nudges the shackles and collar for a moment before shrugging again.
"These were meant for a Beastkin Thief, my Lord. Which thanks to my glamor, I was presenting as. However, the instant I dropped my glamor, they would have fallen away. They were not designed to hold a Demon Assassin, after all. They couldn't have hoped to contain my true power. In fact, I was about to reveal myself to you before you preempted me sir."
Here, Erised actually blushes a little bit.
"I thought… I thought you'd seen right through me and that freeing me was your way of showing that. I admit, I let my… arousal get the better of me. I didn't realize you had freed me without even knowing who I truly was."
Erised was a little full of herself, wasn't she? Saying things like 'true power' and 'shadow in the night'… was she even listening to herself? Also, she'd called Serafina a bitch. Marcus honestly didn't know how to feel about that. On the one hand, Serafina had shown him an awful lot of kindness. On the other hand, she'd given him what she thought was a slave. On top of that, Erised had plenty of reason to hate the leader of the Church, didn't she?
Not just a Demon, but an Assassin too. Now there was an Evil Job if he'd ever heard of one. Marcus didn't know if the Church killed Assassins or 'recruited' them in the same way they did Thieves. The fact that he couldn't say for certain one way or the other meant nothing good, however. But to be fair, you had to have lived a pretty nasty life to Awaken as an Assassin. Marcus figured it probably didn't happen very often.
Erised was also a Demon even before she was an Assassin. If Assassin was an Evil Job, then Demon might as well be an Evil Race in the eyes of the Church. Monstrous and reviled by the whole of the Holy Empire. Just… just like orcs, he supposed.
… Marcus could ignore it no longer. Her use of the word 'Lord' when referring to him was just too telling. So was the way she'd pledged herself to him when everyone else he'd met so far today had called him the Destined Hero. Marcus knew in his heart of hearts already, even if a part of him wanted to pretend like it wasn't really happening. But a larger part of him knew he had to get confirmation, one way or the other.
"You keep calling me 'Lord'. You know, don't you? You know that… that I'm the Dark Lord."
Erised blinks at that before letting out a tinkling, melodic giggle and nodding her head.
"Yes, my Lord. Of course."
"How?"
Maybe he should be more circumspect about it, but Marcus can't help himself. He's as blunt as one of those wooden sticks he wasted years 'practicing swordplay' with. Staring Erised down, Marcus frowns.
"How do you know I'm the Dark Lord?"
Tilting her head to the side, Erised shrugs again and lifts a hand. In the air, she begins drawing an Identification Sign. However, it's visibly different from the Identification Signs he's seen members of the Church use so far today. For one, it's red instead of white. It's also almost… demonic in nature. Marcus actually recognizes one or two symbols as things he was taught growing up to report to the Church immediately if he ever saw anywhere.
The Identification Sign is finished a moment later and Erised nods at whatever response she got back.
"There it is, my Lord. Right there plain as day. You are the Dark Lord. Honestly, I don't know how you did it. Back at the Chapel, when I saw you first Awakened and performed my own Sign along with that cow-tittied Priestess, I thought for a moment I was going to need to step in to save you. But then she declared you the Destined Hero! It was amazing!"
Erised practically has stars in her eyes as she recounts what had NOT been a particularly amazing experience for Marcus. No, it'd been downright traumatizing. But of course, the Demon doesn't know that. In fact, Marcus is starting to get the impression that she's rather young. Not younger than him maybe, but then to be fair, HE was young as well.
"You must have thought fast on your feet and used some sort of hidden ability of the Dark Lord or something! And they ate it right up, didn't they? Even the Pope bitch herself has taken an interest in you now!"
"Don't call her that."
He hadn't said it before, but suddenly the words spill out of Marcus' mouth. He flushes as Erised blinks at him, but ultimately he decides to stand his ground on this.
"The Holy Pope… Serafina… don't call her a bitch, alright? Just… don't."
The Demon Assassin tilts her head to the side for a moment in confusion, but ultimately bows at the waist, bending over entirely.
"Of course, my Lord. Your wish is my command. I live to follow your Will."
Coming back up out of her bow, Erised's eyes dance with excitement.
"Still… how did you do it? Ah, but you don't have to tell me if you don't want to. Just tell me to shut up and I will~"
He's tempted… but no. Erised is his best source of information right now. On top of that, she's the only one to somehow know the truth so far. And in the end, keeping secrets from her felt wrong. Maybe it would have been smart, maybe he couldn't actually trust her, but Marcus ultimately just shakes his head.
"I don't know. I haven't actually done anything. I thought I was a goner too back in the Chapel. But instead Priestess Angelina said I was the Destined Hero. And then Paladin Eric confirmed it. Bishop Archibald too. Hell, even Serafina confirmed it. I think… I think something went wrong. What if I'm both?"
There's a momentary pause before Erised scoffs.
"Pardon me, my Lord… but that's simply not possible."
He blinks, wondering how she can be so sure, but before Marcus can ask, Erised suddenly has a look of understanding pity on her face. Her tone turns gentle as she steps forward.
"Still, I can see how hard this has all been on you. I'm sorry for not realizing it earlier. Please… sit down. Let me take care of you. Let me relieve this stress that's ailing you."
The Demon suddenly has his hands in her own. Or rather, her much smaller violet fingers are grasping at two of his large green digits apiece, as she gently tugs him over to her bed. Marcus lets her do so, still not entirely sure what's happening or what he's supposed to do at this point. As she has him sit down and begins tugging at his pants, its obvious what's about to happen. But Marcus… Marcus can't really bring himself to fight it. Anymore than he fought it when the Holy Pope did the same thing.
Maybe Erised is right about how much all of this is getting to him. Because he doesn't just want what she's offering. At this point, he damn well NEEDS it.
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A/N: Funnily enough, in the original outline there was going to be widespread Beastkin Slavery across the entire Holy Empire. There was just one problem with that. Because I knew Eris was Erised all along and thus not actually a cat girl but a demon, the issue of the Holy Empire's Beastkin Slavery never came up in the outline ever again. It was just there in the background, unresolved.
Luckily, I had already established how the Church treated those with the Thief Job, so rather than Eris being enslaved because she was Beastkin, she was enslaved because the Church thought she was a Thief. It works much better in both the short-term and the long-term I'd say.
As always, hope everyone enjoyed this chapter. Please let me know what you thought one way or the other!
Chapter 9 comes out Friday, or you can read six chapters ahead over on my P atreon!