A/N: Back to Marcus' POV. Time to stop sitting on his ass and letting his girls do all the work~
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The Succubus is fast. Insanely fast. Or maybe… he's just slow. It certainly feels like it. It feels like out of everyone in his party, Marcus is the only one not managing to roll with the punches. From Erised standing between him and Sepia, to Angelina apparently touching on quite the nerve with the Succubus. All while he stood there, feeling like he couldn't keep up. He must have looked rather dumb just watching Angelina verbally spar with the demonic Mother Superior.
Fortunately, Sepia pauses to speak to his blonde companion after taking Angelina to the ground like that. Those fangs… that tail… neither look particularly appetizing. With Angelina in danger, Marcus finally finds it in him to act. In the tight confines they're in, he can't bring his halberd to bear. So he doesn't bother. Instead, he pulls his shortsword from its sheath and has it up under Sepia's chin in one, smooth motion.
Her attitude had definitely caught him off guard. Unlike Roka-Ra, who had pledged her loyalty practically the moment she could once she knew who he was, Sepia the Succubus seemed disinclined to do so. Not only that, but she'd used both Identification Signs, one in each hand. She was the first entity Marcus had met who could even do that… the first person to confirm with their own individual eyes that he was in fact showing up as both Jobs.
And apparently, she was a skeptic. Honestly, Marcus didn't mind that. So long as they could convince her to help them, he didn't need her loyalty or anything like that. He just needed answers. Of course, Sepia had been… less than helpful so far. And when she'd recognized Erised and mentioned his demon assassin's mother, Marcus really hadn't been sure what to think there.
Honestly, Angelina calling Sepia out and declaring the entire Convent to still be consecrated holy ground had just been the icing on the cake. It wasn't like he could tell what was and wasn't holy ground. He certainly didn't know what it would take to desecrate and defile a sanctified plot of land like the Convent was apparently built on.
In the end, he only had Angelina's expertise to go off of, and the Holy Priestess had been quite certain of her claims. So certain, that she hadn't been willing to back down, no matter how menacing the demonic Mother Superior standing in front of them had gotten. Until finally, she'd apparently caused Sepia to positively flip out.
Well, if there was one thing Marcus would NOT abide, it was threatening those close to him. He might have wanted answers from the Succubus, but that didn't mean he was going to let her hurt Angelina. As Sepia's red eyes rise to meet his gaze, Marcus does his level best to convey that fact in the moment that passes between them. Then, he flares both of his abilities. Dark Power to strengthen him and hopefully up his speed, and Dark Presence to make sure Sepia knew just how serious he was.
"Back. Off."
A shiver runs through the woman, though Marcus doesn't think it's a shiver of fear. Still, after a moment, she skitters back, away from his blade and more importantly, away from Angelina. Marcus watches as she goes, his eyes on not just that deadly-looking tail of hers, but also on her claws and fangs. Only once she's a dozen steps away and straightened out of her pouncing crouch does Marcus lean down to help Angelina to her feet.
"Well aren't you scary, little Dark Hero. It was just a bit of fun, honest~"
Marcus just growls, still holding his shortsword at the ready as he hauls Angelina up off the ground with his other hand. The Holy Priestess has a tremor going through her body, but when he finally risks a glance to her, she doesn't look all that afraid. Instead, she's smiling at him with a look that's half-appreciation… and half-lust, her eyes clouded with desire as Marcus flushes and dials back Dark Presence.
The ability on its own did not necessarily inspire lust… but in a place like this, with women like these? A glance around shows that dialing the ability up to full blast had definitely had that sort of pronounced effect on every woman in the room. Including the Convent's collection of Priestesses, who are all staring at him hungrily now. Luckily, they're also staring at his unsheathed shortsword with some trepidation, so they aren't likely to try and jump him any time soon.
Though… if Angelina was correct, that wasn't going to happen anyways, now was it? If Angelina wasn't mistaken, then this place… everything they'd seen so far was consensual. Marcus had been a little worried at the beginning. He wasn't sure what he was going to do about Sepia, even if they could get her to help them. Leaving someone called 'The Great Corruptor' in charge of a place like this had already been making him feel a heavy weight in his gut.
But no… apparently, all was not as it seemed. Seeing as Angelina's words had provoked Sepia to attack, Marcus was inclined to believe that the demonic Mother Superior truly wasn't the type to force anyone to do anything they didn't want to do. And neither were her flock, he imagined. The problem with that was… if a whole bunch of naked, buxom Sisters all offered themselves to him at once, Marcus wasn't sure he'd be able to hold back his orcish instincts.
As he's worrying about all of that however, Roka-Ra clears her throat and steps up, taking back the reins of the conversation.
"Dark Lord… as you've likely already guessed, Sepia the Succubus us the Dark General that we're here to see. Sepia… regardless of what the Church's bastardized version of the Identification Sign says, Marcus IS the Dark Lord. He's Big Sis Gral-Ra's son! How could progeny of Gral-Ra ever be the Destined Hero?!"
Yeah, no shit she was who they were here to see. Still, Marcus waits a beat, keeping quiet as he watches Sepia for her reaction. Unfortunately, he doesn't get much from her. If she does know anything more about his origins, the Succubus is holding it close to the chest as her eyes flicker from Roka-Ra and then back to Marcus. She pauses for a moment before smiling thinly.
"How indeed? And yet, the Identification Sign doesn't lie. But really, it doesn't matter. The Destined Lord isn't here to put mine and my Convent to the sword, right? Especially not after his pet Priestess spoke for us in such kind words."
Suddenly, Sepia is coy, even as she continues to mash up the titles of Dark Lord and Destined Hero. Honestly, Marcus has to admit… he likes Destined Lord a little bit better than Dark Hero. Though admittedly, Dark Hero better describes his actions in the months since he's Awakened back in the Capital.
Prowling backwards, Sepia sits among her flock, lounging back on them as they willingly prop her up with hands, bosoms, and mouths suckling at her bared flesh. The Succubus hums, seeming almost smug all of the sudden. But then to be fair, she was right. With Angelina giving them her approval, Marcus was far less likely to want to take action against Sepia or her Convent. Not that he would have ever 'put them to the sword' in the first place.
Amusingly, Roka-Ra takes more issue with Sepia's words than Marcus himself does. The orc Dark General growls, growing a couple of inches as her control over her temper slips ever so slightly. Her eyes glow red as she grits her teeth… before forcibly calming herself down and shrinking back to size. Of course, her normal size still puts her at the same height as Marcus, leaving both of them towering over everyone else in the room.
"… Where can we find Camilla, Sepia? Point us in her direction and we'll be out of your hair. It'll be like we were never even here."
Camilla. Another Dark General. Specifically, the Dark General that they were apparently hunting for. The one who could give him the answers he sought. Needless to say, Marcus was very interested in Sepia's answer to Roka-Ra's question… and also quite incensed when the demonic Mother Superior just shrugs her shoulders.
"As tempting as that might be, I'm not in the business of selling out my comrades like you apparently are, darling Roka-Ra. What could you possibly even want with her anyways? No… I don't really care."
Sepia cuts Roka-Ra's attempt at a response off with a raised palm, further incensing the orc Dark General. And yet, Marcus gets the impression that Sepia isn't quite telling the truth. She does care. Clearly, he's had the others do the talking for him long enough. Before Roka-Ra can find her voice again, he places a hand on the enraged orc woman's shoulder and silently tells her to stand down.
The Succubus' red eyes move to him as he once more goes front and center before her. Standing tall, shoulders back and head held high, Marcus doesn't let the throne of flesh that Sepia is now lounging upon distract him.
"Answers. I want answers that only General Camilla can provide. About my origins. About my true nature. Whether I'm the Destined Hero or the Dark Lord, I want to know for sure one way or the other. I just want to know what I'm supposed to be."
There's a pause as the room almost seems to digest his words. Even the Convent's Sisters stopped moving for a moment to listen to him, hanging off of every syllable. They were… incredibly thirsty, and he'd definitely caught their eye. It would probably be best to get the information they sought and get out soon, lest he find himself in an orgy sooner rather than later.
At his blunt honesty, Sepia's red eyes flash and she smiles thinly.
"… Well now. I can tell you this much… Camilla is precisely who you must seek if those are the answers you're looking for."
Hope surges through Marcus. Sure, he'd known that Roka-Ra believed Camilla to be the one who had answers for him. But to have it confirmed and verified by a third party only made him more interested. He needed to find Dark General Camilla. He needed to know what she knew, what she could tell him.
"… But I still don't see why I should help any of you."
And like that, the hope comes crashing down. Roka-Ra growls beside him, but Sepia isn't done just yet.
"Since you were so honest with me, I shall be honest with you… a favor to my late Lord, since you are indeed Gral-Ra's son."
That acknowledgment seems to mollify Roka-Ra enough that the orc woman lets Sepia continue uninterrupted. Perhaps that was the whole point of it, in fact. Especially since the Succubus' next words are incredibly antagonistic, at least to Roka-Ra and Erised.
"Even if you were indisputably the Dark Lord, I would not swear fealty to you. I would not transfer my loyalty to your banner. You see, in truth… the fact that you appear as both is merely a polite fiction that allows me to declare you unworthy of my devotion. So long as you might be the Destined Hero, I can justify not giving any of you the time of day. But the fact is… I'm done with all of that."
Sepia's eyes sharpen, and her aura of menace grows once more.
"I am done being the Church's scapegoat. I am through being vilified as the Great Corruptor, the infiltrator that pierces to the heart of their places of power and seemingly turns their greatest holy men and women against the Light. Never mind that all of them were glad to lay with me and tell me their secrets of their own free will. Never mind that the temptation of my body was nothing more than a convenient excuse that allowed them to stray guilty free. Never mind that I can wield their precious Holy Light just as good as any of them can!"
Abruptly, Sepia is on her feet again, looking ready for a fight. Aggressive. Hostile… but most importantly of all? Protective.
"All I care about now is my flock and this Convent. These Sisters are my darling daughters, who I will care for to the best of my abilities for the rest of our days together. The conflict between the Dark Lord and the Destined Hero… the proxy war between the Holy Empire and the Forces of Darkness… I care not for it anymore. The last drops of my conviction and loyalty died with Gral-Ra, and they shall stay dead. This is where I belong. I shall not interfere any longer."
As Sepia comes to the end of her monologue, it's as though a spell has been broken. None of them had made any attempt to interrupt her while she was speaking… but of course, not that she's done, some people have things they want to say. Both Roka-Ra and Erised clearly have words for the Succubus, especially after she declared that Marcus' confused status was not actually what was holding her back from helping them.
Except… before either of them can blow up at Sepia, Marcus holds up his hands, silencing them both. He gets their anger, even if he doesn't share it. Erised had given everything to be by the next Dark Lord's side. To have Sepia throw that aside must have been like a slap in the face. Likewise, Roka-Ra had lost quite a lot and made several mistakes before swearing her fealty to him. Sepia refusing to give up the life she'd built for herself after his mother's death, likely got to the orc woman.
Still, something about the way Sepia was speaking… it stood out to Marcus. Now that she was being brutally honest with them about how little she cared whether he was the Dark Lord or not… something else had leaked through. Another bit of honesty that had shone quite brightly when Sepia was talking about caring only about her flock.
Now, obviously the Succubus had a very different definition of the love between a mother and her daughters than humans did, because the demonic Mother Superior's relationship with her flock was far from platonic. And yet… he sensed a mother's protectiveness in the so-called Great Corruptor all the same. And like the sun shining through after a particularly cloudy day, Marcus suddenly knew how he was going to get what he wanted from this woman.
"Someone is threatening your flock, aren't they? Someone is threatening the Convent. Someone you're afraid of."
Sepia's eyes flash and she looks like she wants to deny it for a moment before finally, she lets out a bitter laugh.
"You and the blonde Priestess… the two of you are far too observant for your own good."
Marcus didn't agree. He felt like he and Angelina were precisely as observant as they needed to be. Perhaps not observant enough, even.
"You need our help."
He doesn't phrase it like a question. And Sepia doesn't deny it. She does lift a sculpted eyebrow at him for a moment, before letting out a sigh and shaking her head ruefully.
"… Very well. I'll send you all in the direction of Camilla… just as soon as you help me and my flock with our little Paladin problem."
Exchanging a look with his party for a moment, Marcus ultimately nods, doing his best to keep the sudden fresh surge of anxiety and nervousness away from his face. Just what exactly had he gotten himself into now?
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A/N: Next time, hopping over to an Elsenthia POV real quick. I'm sure it's totally unrelated to what Marcus is currently dealing with...
As always, let me know what you think and I hope everyone enjoyed!
Chapter 45 will come out on Friday like usual, or you can read six chapters ahead right now over on the P atreon!